We keep telling ya, laughter is the best medicine. Here’s an article written by a sociology professor on the benefits of laughter. It’s a great refresher on the healing power of humor.
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By Hanns Pieper
Original Article
You know the saying that laughter is the best medicine? Well, it turns out that there is some truth to it.
Among other things, laughter is thought to improve the immune system, lower blood pressure, reduce the negative impact of stress, improve brain functioning and generally help to approach life more positively.
The impact of laughter is tied to the physical effects of laughing out loud. Laughter provides an actual physical release from harmful stresses — an instant relaxation that remains with us even after the laughter stops. Laughter uses many muscles and releases endorphins that bring relief.
Think back to the last time you had a really good belly laugh. Remember that state of complete physical exhaustion and relaxation?
Laughter works, but there’s a catch. Real belly type laughter rarely occurs when we are by ourselves. We may smile inwardly when something strikes us as funny, but we are much more likely to laugh when we are in a group. A joke that generates a smile when we read it alone may bring about robust laughter when read in the company of others.
Laughter is contagious. Think back to the last time someone got you started laughing, even in the most inappropriate of circumstances, and you couldn’t stop. Another reason for the importance of social gathering is that laughter is more rooted in day-to-day comments made in groups than from jokes.
As we get older we tend to laugh less. Children laugh a lot because so many things are new to them, and most of these things strike them as funny. Perhaps we grow jaded as adults, and our reaction to a situation tends to be a cynical comment or an anxious feeling, rather than the good belly laugh the situation deserves.
Maybe we just get out of practice. So how do we get back to the point where we laugh at situations rather than become depressed? A smile is the beginning of laughter. Try something right now. Smile. Did you notice not only a physical change, but also a slight, temporary mood change?
While laughing is a good tension release, obviously there are some situations where a good laugh is completely inappropriate, and we don’t want to laugh at someone else’s expense. However, many situations that upset us are so absurd that they just demand a good laugh.
For instance, a three-page memo about the importance of keeping memos short deserves a good laugh, not an angry, stressful response.
Find ways to bring laughter back into your life. Watch a funny television program with a friend. Have lunch with a friend and laugh.
Where you can, find humor in your life and share it with others. Regain that ability to laugh at yourself.
Laughter can’t cure all ills, but it’s a better strategy to get through the average day than anxiety or anger.
Red Skelton, who made many people laugh during the course of his career, put it well:
“Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. Even in your darkest moment, you usually can find something to laugh about if you try hard enough.”
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