{"id":22894,"date":"2020-11-23T22:57:54","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T22:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=22894"},"modified":"2020-11-24T08:05:57","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T08:05:57","slug":"laughing-is-good-for-your-mind-and-your-body-heres-what-the-research-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/laughing-is-good-for-your-mind-and-your-body-heres-what-the-research-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Laughing is good for your mind and your body \u2013 here’s what the research shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Janet M. Gibson<\/a>, Grinnell College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Amusement and pleasant surprises \u2013 and the laughter they can trigger \u2013 add texture to the fabric of daily life.<\/p>\n

Those giggles and guffaws can seem like just silly throwaways. But laughter, in response to funny events, actually takes a lot of work, because it activates many areas of the brain<\/a>: areas that control motor, emotional, cognitive and social processing.<\/p>\n

As I found when writing \u201cAn Introduction to the Psychology of Humor<\/a>,\u201d researchers now appreciate laughter\u2019s power to enhance physical and mental well-being.<\/p>\n

Laughter\u2019s physical power<\/h2>\n

People begin laughing in infancy, when it helps develop muscles and upper body strength<\/a>. Laughter is not just breathing. It relies on complex combinations of facial muscles, often involving movement of the eyes, head and shoulders.<\/p>\n

Laughter \u2013 doing it or observing it \u2013 activates multiple regions of the brain: the motor cortex, which controls muscles; the frontal lobe, which helps you understand context; and the limbic system, which modulates positive emotions. Turning all these circuits on strengthens neural connections and helps a healthy brain coordinate its activity.<\/p>\n

By activating the neural pathways of emotions like joy and mirth, laughter can improve your mood and make your physical and emotional response to stress less intense. For example, laughing may help control brain levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, similar to what antidepressants<\/a> do. By minimizing your brain\u2019s responses to threats, it limits the release of neurotransmitters and hormones like cortisol that can wear down your cardiovascular, metabolic and immune systems<\/a> over time. Laughter\u2019s kind of like an antidote to stress<\/a>, which weakens these systems and increases vulnerability to diseases.<\/p>\n

\"women<\/a>
Getting the joke is a good workout for your brain.<\/span>
\nThomas Barwick\/Stone via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Laughter\u2019s cognitive power<\/h2>\n

A good sense of humor and the laughter that follows depend on an ample measure of social intelligence and working memory resources.<\/p>\n

Laughter, like humor, typically sparks from recognizing the incongruities or absurdities<\/a> of a situation. You need to mentally resolve the surprising behavior or event \u2013 otherwise you won\u2019t laugh; you might just be confused instead. Inferring the intentions of others and taking their perspective<\/a> can enhance the intensity of the laughter and amusement you feel.<\/p>\n

To \u201cget\u201d a joke or humorous situation, you need to be able to see the lighter side of things. You must believe that other possibilities besides the literal exist \u2013 think about being amused by comic strips with talking animals<\/a>, like those found in \u201cThe Far Side<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laughter\u2019s social power<\/h2>\n

Many cognitive and social skills work together to help you monitor when and why laughter occurs during conversations. You don\u2019t even need to hear a laugh to be able to laugh. Deaf signers punctuate their signed sentences with laughter<\/a>, much like emoticons in written text.<\/p>\n

Laughter creates bonds and increases intimacy with others. Linguist Don Nilsen points out that chuckles and belly laughs seldom happen when alone<\/a>, supporting their strong social role. Beginning early in life, infants\u2019 laughter is an external sign of pleasure that helps strengthen bonds with caregivers.<\/p>\n

Later, it\u2019s an external sign of sharing an appreciation of the situation. For example, public speakers and comedians<\/a> try to get a laugh to make audiences feel psychologically closer to them, to create intimacy.<\/p>\n

By practicing a little laughter each day, you can enhance social skills that may not come naturally to you. When you laugh in response to humor, you share your feelings with others and learn from risks that your response will be accepted\/shared\/enjoyed by others and not be rejected\/ignored\/disliked.<\/p>\n

In studies, psychologists have found that men with Type A personality characteristics<\/a>, including competitiveness and time urgency, tend to laugh more, while women with those traits laugh less. Both sexes laugh more with others than when alone.<\/p>\n

\"white-haired<\/a>
Laughter has value across the whole lifespan.<\/span>
\nSteve Prezant\/The Image Bank via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Laughter\u2019s mental power<\/h2>\n

Positive psychology researchers study how people can live meaningful lives and thrive. Laughter produces positive emotions that lead to this kind of flourishing. These feelings \u2013 like amusement, happiness, mirth and joy \u2013 build resiliency and increase creative thinking<\/a>. They increase subjective well-being and life satisfaction<\/a>. Researchers find that these positive emotions experienced with humor and laughter correlate with appreciating the meaning of life<\/a> and help older adults hold a benign view of difficulties they\u2019ve faced over a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Laughter in response to amusement is a healthy coping mechanism. When you laugh, you take yourself or the situation less seriously and may feel empowered to problem-solve<\/a>. For example, psychologists measured the frequency and intensity of 41 people\u2019s laughter over two weeks, along with their ratings of physical and mental stress. They found that the more laughter experienced<\/a>, the lower the reported stress. Whether the instances of laughter were strong, medium or weak in intensity didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

Maybe you want to grab some of these benefits for yourself \u2013 can you force laughter to work for you?<\/p>\n

A growing number of therapists advocate using humor and laughter to help clients build trust and improve work environments<\/a>; a review of five different studies found that measures of well-being did increase<\/a> after laughter interventions. Sometimes called homeplay<\/a> instead of homework, these interventions take the form of daily humor activities \u2013 surrounding yourself with funny people, watching a comedy that makes you laugh or writing down three funny things that happened today.<\/p>\n

[Deep knowledge, daily.<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

You can practice laughing even when alone. Intentionally take a perspective that appreciates the funny side of events. Laughing yoga<\/a> is a technique of using breathing muscles to achieve the positive physical responses of natural laughing with forced laughter (ha ha hee hee ho ho).<\/p>\n