‘Half-Blood Prince’ Life Lesson #1: Laugh!

By Alicia Sparks
July 16, 2009

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Premiere

I watched the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Tuesday night and, just, wow.

So much fire, blood, death… Half-Blood Prince is definitely the darkest movie of the series so far. The cinematography was brilliant. The dynamic between Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint was brilliant. The way Tom Felton stepped up to the plate for Draco Malfoy’s “shining” moment was brilliant.

And Michael Gambon? Brilliant since the sad day Richard Harris left us.

Everything and everyone was brilliant!

So much so that I’m willing to overlook almost everything they added and left out.

But, that’s neither here nor there for Celebrity Psychings. After the buzz of my Harry Potter high calmed down a bit, I started thinking about how Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – like so many Harry Potter movies before it – packs some pretty good life lessons for viewers of all ages.

Thus, this series was born. For the next seven days, we’ll take a look at the kinds of lessons Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince can teach us.

Exciting stuff, yes? I thought so.

Disclaimer: This post was based on the movie, but read the books. Seriously. Also note that spoilers follow after the jump, so if you haven’t yet read or watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and you plan to, you might want to skip over this.

Lesson #1: Make time for laughter.

Tom Felton made a good point during his interview with Denise Martin of the Los Angeles Times. Even though this is the darkest of the Harry Potter movies, it’s also packed with hilarious moments.

Laughter has often been called “the best medicine,” and it really does pack some serious health benefits. Check these puppies out:

Laughter can reduce stress hormones like cortisone and adrenaline and boost feel-good chemicals like endorphins.
Laughter also boosts your immune system by increasing antibody-producing cells and enhancing the effectiveness of T-cells.
Laughter gives your facial muscles, abdominal muscles, and diaphragm a good workout. Depending on how hard you laugh, you might even work in some shoulder, arm, and back exercises.
Laughter can lower your blood pressure and increase vascular blood flow and blood oxygenation.
Laughter can help improve personal relationships and attract good attention from others.
Laughter helps relax your body and provides a nice distraction from all the stressful things going on in your life. Like fighting Death Eaters and Dark Lords.

You can find more information about the health benefits of laughter when you visit:

Now, go laugh!