Why Do We Laugh?
When
you stop and think about it, the sounds people make when something
strikes their funny bone are kind of odd; maybe even bizarre. But the
whoops and snorts that sometimes constitute a spontaneous explosion of
mirth is a science, researchers say. There are reasons for a good belly laugh that psychologists believe involve far more than a simple side effect for amusement. Another question besides why we laugh is, why does laughing until you
hurt feel so good? One reason is because it’s inherently physical.
Terms like “convulsed” and “doubled over” with hilarity or “splitting
one’s sides” denote intense engagement that involves both your body and
mind. There are many reasons why we laugh. Some of those are odd, too.
People sometimes break into giggles in uncomfortable situations, for
instance. They can’t help it. Maybe they think it fills uncomfortable
silence, or they want to mask embarrassment in an awkward situation, such as walking into the wrong restroom. Writer Sam Thomas Davies says, “A nervous laugh is often a
physiological release of negative emotions like anxiety, confusion,
discomfort or stress a person feels in a social situation.”1 It’s a habit that, rather than relieving anxiety, actually heightens it. Laughing can trigger short-term as well as long-term positive effects
in your body. You could also say there are physiological reasons why a
good guffaw is good for you. It: Just as “negative internal dialogue” can surge through your entire
system and even open the door for free radicals to damage your cells,
the opposite happens when you let hilarity take its natural course. Your
laughter boosts your immune system. When you laugh, neuropeptides are released that help combat stress, and potentially, disease. Mayo Clinic asserts that it: “Activate(s) and relieve(s) your stress response. A rollicking
laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can
increase your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed
feeling.”3 As for the long-term benefits to laughter, it seems simplistic to say
that laughing helps get you in a better mood, but it does. Laughing
about a stressful or difficult situation not only can help you cope
better, but will help you connect on a more “real” level with others. Research shows that you’re 30 times more likely to laugh in a social setting than when you're by yourself.4 You’d think the most obvious reason for laughing would be because we
think something’s funny. But, WebMD recounts, a study in the Quarterly
Review of Biology says “not so:” “The primary function of laughter may not be self-expression.
Instead, the purpose of a laugh could be to trigger positive feelings in
other people. When you laugh, the people around you might start
laughing in response. Soon, the whole group is cheerful and relaxed. Laughter can ease
tension and foster a sense of group unity. This could have been
particularly important for small groups of early humans.”5 The very act of laughing is a scientific study in culturalism.
Laughter is usually socially motivated. Maybe we don’t find something
particularly funny, but other peoples’ laughter might be. Here’s one
reason why, a BBC article noted: “We laugh most frequently when we are with other people … It's a
social emotion and we use it to make and maintain social bonds. We also make very strange noises when we laugh — from wheezes and
squeaks to gasps and snorts — and each sound simply reflects the
muscles in the chest squeezing out air from our ribcages under very high
pressures.”6 One interesting thing about what makes us laugh is that it’s often
universal; the same things crack us up. Further, laughter is a very
recognizable sound. When someone who speaks a completely different
language finds something amusing and laughs, we know what it means. Psychology Today says laughter helps facilitate your capacity to learn new things.7
Especially for children, that’s why laughter is such an important part
of their play. It actually helps them learn new skills as they engage in
playful activities. More importantly, laughter helps ensure they’re in an emotionally healthy and safe environment. Researchers conducted an experiment on babies, some only 18 months
old, to determine whether laughter would help focus attention, motivate,
perceive, memorize and learn. The conclusion: The babies who laughed
learned to target actions better. Other scientists have used the knowledge of what dopamine can do for
you to set forth the hypothesis that laughter, as a natural high, is
better than a chemical high, say in pushing the assertion why young
people should say “no” to drugs.8 Dopamine
is a neurotransmitter that helps control your brain's reward and
pleasure centers. Some call it the motivation molecule that gives you a
little thrill when you accomplish something. And, it encourages
laughter. Without it, there’s actually something called dopamine
deficiency. You’ve seen it many times in others, and no doubt experienced it
yourself: a sluggish sort of apathy that results in everything from
inability to concentrate to trouble sleeping to lack of sexual drive. But scientists say you can boost your dopamine without being a thrill
seeker. It can be increased through choosing healthy foods such as
avocados, dark chocolate and green tea, and healthy spices such as turmeric and black pepper.9 Listening to music can do it. In fact, even anticipating listening to music can do it.10 In fact, dopamine can help you relax, and relaxing can open your mind to seeing the humor in things. It’s very healthy. Of course, scientists had to take MRI images of someone laughing to
see what laughter actually stimulates. It turns out that laughing
doesn’t really involve peoples’ mouths or throats, but rather their
ribcages, and emerges as one of the most primitive ways humans can emit
sound. BBC adds: “Laughter is a non-verbal emotional expression and these sounds,
which we typically make when in the grip of quite strong emotions, are
more like animal calls than they are like our normal speech. We make them in very simple ways (unlike speech) and they are
controlled by an evolutionarily 'older' brain system, one that looks
after vocali[z]ation in all mammals (unlike speech). This is why a stroke can rob someone of the ability to speak, but
leave them able to laugh and cry. They have suffered damage to the
brain areas that enable them to speak, but the older emotional system is
still intact.” Amazingly, your laughter can benefit people who happen to hear you
yukking it up. Scientists at Loma Linda University conducted a study to
see if laughter can do more than just make someone feel good for a few
minutes.11 Twenty healthy adults in their 60s and 70s agreed to participate in
the experiment that would measure their short term memory and stress levels, The Huffington Post reported.12 Divided
in half, one group got to watch funny videos. The other group was asked
to sit quietly without talking or interacting with each other, with no
books, television or cell phones. Twenty minutes later, members of both groups had saliva taken and
underwent a short memory test. While both groups performed better than
they had before the tests began, the faction that watched the funny
videos had “significantly” better results. The improvement related to a
43.6 percent better recall, compared with just 20.3 in the other
no-activity group. Furthermore, participants in the “funny” group had much lower levels of cortisol, called the “stress hormone.” Multiple other studies have determined that laughter is good medicine. Scientists — or maybe it’s humorists — believe a good sense of humor
can be developed with the proper perspective. A few simple exercises are
recommended: One of the not-yet-discussed, long-term benefits you get from
laughter also includes pain relief, simply because pain thresholds rise
when endorphin levels increase. According to Robin Dunbar, Ph.D., professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University: “Laughter is definitely some of the best medicine for pain. It
seems that endorphins tune up the immune system, so triggering their
release through laughter helps you recover from disease and allows the
body to resist infection. Would some comic relief help those suffering from chronic pain?
Presumably, the more you engage in social events that involve laughter,
you'll be better able to bear chronic pain. No doubt the pharmaceutical
companies won't like it, but laughter would save on hospital bills." 13 The Healthy Side of Busting a Gut
The Socially Scientific Aspects of Laughter
Laughing Helps You Learn and Boosts Dopamine
Study leader Rana Esseily theorized the reason to be dopamine release.
A Chortle a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Learn to Laugh; It Starves the Pain
Get My Best Health Tips for FREE
If you haven't already, here's your chance to subscribe to the world's most popular newsletter! My FREE newsletter is instrumental in changing the lives of many people across the world. If you want to take control of your health then you won't want to miss out on this opportunity. When you subscribe I guarantee:
- You'll be the first to hear about fast-breaking health news and hard-to-find tips for improving your emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being
- You'll save money because I'm committed to helping you stay healthy, so you won't need expensive prescription drugs or doctor's visits so often
- You'll get straight talk from me in plain English that shatters all the myths and misconceptions about health, aging, and fitness
- You'll gain unlimited access to free eBooks that can have a profound impact on your health
Comments
There are 0 comments on this post