“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
― Charles Dickens
Whether you are laughing over a nice comedy flick or giggling over a joke with your family and friends, a good laugh can really help you de-stress. But the benefits of laughter goes far beyond that, especially when it comes to mental health. So, let’s look at a few benefits of laughter on fostering mental health:
Benefits Galore:
- RELEASES ENDORPHINS: The authors of the study spearheaded by Dr. Robin Dunbar of University of Oxford, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, suggests that, “When laughter is elicited, pain thresholds are significantly increased, whereas when subjects watched something that does not naturally elicit laughter, pain thresholds do not change (and are often lower)”. This means that you would be able to handle more painful experiences than normal, if you are laughing. The researchers believe that the long series of exhalations that accompany true laughter cause physical exhaustion of the abdominal muscles and, in turn, trigger endorphin release.
- REDUCES STRESS HORMONES: According to research conducted in by Dr. Lee Berk of Loma Linda University, CA, the anticipation of a happy experience like laughter, boosted immunity infusing hormones. After a couple of years, the same team of researchers, have come to the conclusion that anticipation of a positive humorous laughter experience also reduces potentially harmful stress hormones. He says, “Our findings lead us to believe that by seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot with our physiology to stay well.”
- STIMULATES THE MIND: Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Scott Weems found that people exposed to comedy are better able to handle general knowledge based tasks (dates of significant events and meanings of words and how to use them in a sentence). In a Psychology Today article, Dr. Weems states, “Comedy is like mental exercise, and just as physical exercise strengthens the body, comedy pumps up the mind.”
- IMPROVES YOUR MOOD: According to research conducted by psychologists Herbert Lefcourt, of the University of Waterloo, and Rod Martin, Ph.D., now at the University of Western Ontario, patients who are facing high stress situations, but have a well developed sense of humors, are less likely to become depressed or anxious than those with a lesser developed sense of humors.
- HELPS US HEAL BETTER: In a study of depressed and suicidal senior citizens, the patients who showed better recovery were the ones who demonstrated a sense of humor, reports psychiatrist Joseph Richman, professor emeritus at Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx, New York.
Now that we have established the emotional and mental benefits of laughter, let’s understand HOW DO WE LAUGH MORE?
- CONFRONT YOUR EGO: The best way to laugh more is to start laughing at yourself. Dr. Wimmer in his website of research questions writes that we must all stop taking ourselves too seriously, as no one likes a ‘know it all’.
- FILL UP YOUR HUMOUR RESERVES: Dr. Frank Laplin in his article ‘7 simple ways to laugh more every day asks us to “fill up our humor reserves”. This means having a collection of funny books and videos we can refer to when we are stressed.
- TAKE HUMOUR BREAKS: In the same article Mr. Laplin also writes that we must allot time every day for watching, reading or doing something funny and laughing. We must especially take humor breaks of a few minutes in between a serious situation, to laugh it out and feel better.
- GET A PET: Pets help in reducing anxiety and stress, and increase our playful moods. “There are lots of studies showing that pets are good for our health,” says Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN, director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. This is because pets offer unconditional love and serve as a distraction from our worries.
So, the next time you have this uncontrollable urge to laugh out loud, just laugh. It does more good than harm.
