We all love to laugh because it makes us happy and feel good. But do you know why we laugh and how it affects our bodies? Here are ten ways that laughing is good for your health.
Laughter can help to reduce pain.
Laughing often can help reduce pain and lead to a longer, healthier life. People with a positive outlook on life tend to laugh more. When we laugh, our bodies release happy chemicals called endorphins, which can reduce pain. If you’re in good physical shape, you’re less likely to experience a lot of mental and physical pain. On average, a person laughs about thirteen times a day. A six-year-old child laughs about three times more than an adult.
Regular laughter can prevent illness.
Laughing is good for your health, especially for your immune system. Laughing a lot daily can strengthen your immune system, so you’re less likely to get sick. When you laugh a lot, you breathe in more oxygen, which is good for your lungs. This extra oxygen goes into your blood and helps keep you healthy.
Studies show that laughter reduces stress.
Research suggests that stress hormones drop significantly after a good laugh because laughter triggers the release of endorphins. These endorphins are like little happiness boosters that can help improve your mood.
Laughter for 10-15 minutes daily can aid weight loss.
Laughter burns calories just like exercise. It increases heart rate, releases endorphins, and can burn 10-40 calories in 10-15 minutes, as found in a Vanderbilt University Medical Centre study.
Laughing helps others stay healthy.
When you hear people laugh, your brain recognizes it and makes you smile, even if you don’t know why. We tend to mimic what others do, and laughter is no different. A study at University College London found that we mirror human actions, and laughter is one of them. So, sharing laughter helps spread happiness and health.
The harder you laugh, the healthier you will be.
Gelotology comes from the Greek word “gelo,” which means laughter. Psychiatrists first studied gelotology, which looks at laughter from a psychological and physical perspective. Professor William F. Fry, from Stanford University, was a pioneer in this field. He conducted studies where he collected blood from people watching funny things. These studies found that when people laughed harder, their bodies produced more immune-boosting cells. This is good for our health.
Deliberate laughter can be a sign of mental health problems.
Forcing laughter might reveal underlying issues or insecurities. Your brain can distinguish between fake and genuine laughter. When you recognize fake laughter, your brain’s anterior medial prefrontal cortex becomes more active. This brain area aids in recognizing others’ emotions and enables us to react sensitively to staged laughter. Encountering fake laughter can enhance our ability to comprehend human emotions.
Laughter is a form of bonding.
People often see laughter as a response to something funny, but it’s more than that. Laughter is a way we communicate and express affection for others. It happens more when we’re in a company, not just in response to jokes. We’re 30 times more likely to laugh when we’re with someone. Laughter is a form of expressing surprise and contributes to maintaining joyful and healthy relationships, benefiting our mental well-being.
