Games for children to die of laughter

There is nothing as comforting and liberating as a good fit of laughter or laughter with friends, and the little ones know it very well: children laugh about 400 times a day , while an average adult only does 20 or 30 times, 100 in the happiest cases.

Laughter is a powerful antidepressant, analgesic and natural sedative : when we laugh, humans release endorphins , a neurotransmitter that is among the so-called happiness hormones. It is a movement that activates multiple brain regions related to emotional, motor, cognitive and social processing , such as the motor cortex, frontal lobe and limbic system.

Benefits of laughter backed by science (and that you may not have known about)

Before exploring some of the games that little ones can play to stimulate their laughter and have a good time at the movies, learn about some more benefits of laughter:

• Relieves pain : One of the effects of releasing endorphins, serotonin and dopamine is that laughter helps increase pain tolerance. As the Mayo Clinic points out , it helps the body produce its own natural pain relievers.
• It is healthy for your heart , since laughter increases the amount of oxygen in the blood, accelerates the heart rate and reduces the stiffness of the arterial walls.
• Improve your defenses : Strengthen the immune system, providing greater resistance and prevention against numerous chronic-degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, high blood pressure and even cancer, explains the expert.
• Positive mood : Laughter can reduce chronic depression and anxiety, as well as levels of tension and stress. It is also an ideal instrument to accelerate the recovery of patients, explains Luis González Imbert, head of the Care and Service Area. to the Volunteers in the Risaterapia AC organization.
• Helps regulate the stress hormone cortisol : Cortisol is an essential hormone for regulating blood sugar levels, reducing inflammation, controlling metabolism, and triggers the fight or flight response at critical times, but too much is bad. Laughter increases oxygen consumption, stimulates circulation and lowers cortisol levels.
• Relaxes muscles: In addition to stimulating the organs and activating and reducing the stress response, laughter helps relax muscles and improve sleep patterns, which is useful for treating and preventing insomnia.

Games that make children laugh

Write down the best games to laugh out loud:

• The serious face : Who hasn't played this before? It consists of staring into each other's eyes without laughing, and it may be permitted to make gestures or grimaces, or even speak. Whoever laughs last is the winner of the game.

• The last straw : This is a fun verbal activity to play individually or in teams, looking for absurdity and exaggeration to learn to de-dramatize. It consists of seeking the height of different personality traits, physical attributes or professions. For example, what is the height of an astronaut? Being afraid of heights!
• Secret code : Awarded in 2016 with the prestigious Spiel des Jahres, the game of the year in Germany, it is one of the ideal board games to take on a trip or enjoy the weekend with the family . In teams, players must guess the correct cards that are on the table according to the clues of the director of each of the teams. Laughter guaranteed!
• Dixit : Every time you play Dixit will be different. This board game is ideal for stimulating lateral and abstract thinking, imagination and creativity, as well as for strengthening vocabulary from an early age. Each player will take turns taking the role of 'storyteller', choosing a card and putting a word or phrase that defines it. You will laugh so hard and have a great time.
• Exploding Kittens: If you are looking for a fast and fun card game, Exploding Kittens will delight children, who will fight to eliminate the rest of the players and survive the terrifying attack of the exploding cats between fits of laughter. You will have a blast! In addition, it has several extensions.
• Pictionary: In vogue since 1985, it will make both those who are skilled in the art of drawing and those who do what they can laugh . The cards provide instructions, the clock starts and the child must draw their own proposals on the board.
• The movies: It is a very famous miming game that practically needs no introduction and is suitable for school, summer camps, birthdays or to play with the family. The classic method involves printing or writing the names of the movies on paper and putting them inside a hat. In each turn, one person from each team will have one minute to represent their proposal and the rest will guess it.

Don't forget to laugh: joke marathons, a mask workshop, theater, monologues, magic, costumes or numerous books, movies and cartoons are a good resource to stimulate that fire inside you that never goes out : Laughter.