Last updated 22:10, Monday, 10 November 2008

It’s Monday morning, it’s bitterly cold and Britain is well and truly credit crunched. And Keith Adams is laughing.

Keith Adams

It starts as a chuckle, rises to a rumble then erupts as a rasping, Muttley-style cackle.

I haven’t said anything to prompt this torrent of titters. Nor has anyone else. But that doesn’t bother Keith. He is, after all, a laughter facilitator.

This is not some fancy name for a stand-up comedian. It’s Keith’s role as an advocate of the benefits enjoyed by opening our hearts and lungs and laughing loud and long.

Keith has researched the subject, trained in it, and now he is ready to spread the word across Cumbria.

It’s not before time. Millions of working days are lost due to sickness. People are run down and fed up.

The county and the country are sick – and laughter really is the best medicine.

That’s Keith’s diagnosis as he prepares to offer us his laughter workshops. Keith, a bachelor from Houghton who turns 67 on Tuesday, reels off a list of the beneficial effects of a good guffaw.

It boosts the immune system. It stimulates the creative side of the brain and leads to clearer thinking. It releases feel-good chemicals, improves respiratory systems, increases blood flow, helps people cope with depression and leads to social bonding.

Happy people live longer, stay married longer, make more money, take fewer sick days, are more altruistic and more creative.

But have we really reached the point when we need to learn how to laugh? Apparently so. “Children laugh about 300 times a day,” says Keith. “Adults laugh only about 12 times a day.

“We are designed to laugh but as we get older we become more concerned about things like work targets and with how people see us so we keep our emotions in. We’re missing out.”

Studies suggest that people in the UK and much of the western world have become less happy as they have become more wealthy.

Perhaps not surprising: can the size of your car or your TV really determine your happiness, and wouldn’t it be rather sad if it could? Meanwhile we’re working harder and longer and seeing less of our friends and families.

According to research our circumstances account for just 10 per cent of our happiness level. Half of our happiness is fixed genetically but that still leaves a rib-tickling 40 per cent which we can influence by thoughts and deeds.

And that’s where Ken comes in. As well as being a laughter facilitator Keith is also chairman of Carlisle Carers, a group which looks after carers with a drop-in centre and support workers.

Keith was at a carers’ conference in Blackpool three years ago when the chance came up to take part in a “laughter session”. His initial response was typical of many: “That sounds a bit weird.” But Keith realised that many carers could use a good laugh so he went along to find out more.

His response when the event had finished? “Absolutely amazing.”

It transformed him, opened a door he didn’t know existed, and led him to spread the gospel. This science is in its infancy but earlier this year Keith found a training course run by the Laughter Network; a group which promotes laughter’s physical and psychological benefits.

Keith is hoping to set up a Carlisle group and has already held several workshops in the city, including one at Elizabeth Welsh care home. The residents were joined by local primary school children.

“That was great fun,” says Keith. “The kids loved it.”

Well, they would. He was preaching to the converted because we already know that this laughter lark comes easily before bills and long working hours drop onto our shoulders.

“The laughter workshops are about being child-like,” Keith explains. “It’s bringing out the child in you.”

He demonstrates some of the exercises designed to flush out my inner kid. Keith and I stand facing each other, looking into each other’s eyes.

We clap while saying “Ho! Ho! Ho! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

I find myself sniggering. This is quite silly.

Keith pulls out an imaginary piece of paper. “Look at my credit card bill!” he says, then roars with laughter.

We impersonate a lion, by pulling our ears and sticking our tongues out.

Keith mimes an angry finger-wagging, but laughs while doing it.

He waves his hand and grimaces as if a funny smell is wafting through the room.

He crawls on the floor and mimics a dog having a pee.

Some of the time I’m laughing, occasionally I feel slightly embarrassed at the sight of Keith howling with glee at nothing in particular.

He says this is quite a common reaction from newcomers. “I was on a training course in a hall in Manchester. People joined in but there were lots of people who weren’t quite sure. They were watching and you could see they wanted to join in but you’ll always get people who are shy. I think doing this increases their self-esteem. It breaks down barriers.”

If you’re feeling down, the good news is that you don’t have to be happy to laugh. “Laugh for no reason” is the motto of Madan Kataria, founder of the International Laughter Club. Whether you laugh at a hilarious joke or because you’re forcing yourself to laugh is apparently of little consequence to your body and mind.

Keith says: “What we do here is simulated laughter. The point is not entertainment. The body doesn’t know the difference between simulated and real laughter. The benefits are the same.”

Madan Kataria has attracted thousands of people to mass laughter events in cities around the world. According to Keith his principles can also apply in workplaces; traditionally an environment where laughter is frowned upon.

“People are stressed. There’s no real laughter in the workplace. If you laugh at work you’re accused of not taking the job seriously. It sounds strange to say ‘Have you got a policy on laughter?’ But managers need to think more about developing happy work practices and happy workers.

“If you have a boss who engages with a smile and a laugh, you will engage with them and you should be a better performing team.”

There’s more to being happy than being silly. Exercise, a good diet, socialising and helping others are among the other factors said to boost this precious resource.

But sometimes silliness is the only sensible option, as Keith knows very well. “I feel happier now and more positive. I don’t leap out of bed in the morning and say ‘It’s great to be here!’ But when I go downstairs and pass the mirror, I lean back and smile at my reflection. Eric Morecambe used to do that.”

Eric Morecambe, eh?

Skipping down the street in a “Bring me sunshine” tribute makes us laugh and brings a beep from a passing car.

The happiness movement is beginning to grow, here and abroad. “My vision is to have lots of people in a Carlisle laughter class, sitting in Rickerby Park in the summer time,” says Keith.

And now, at least, he is dead serious.

To find out more about Keith’s laughter workshops email Infoaspirations@aol.com