Everyone has heard the saying “Laughter is the best medicine,” but is it really true and, if it is, how does it work?
Everyone—or hopefully everyone—at some point in their life has had a time with family or friends when you’ve just laughed at something (perhaps you don’t even remember what it was when you look back at the moment that got you started in the first place) that kept you laughing and once the moment subsides you lie or sit there breathless and feeling 100 times better than you did before. Scientists have actually been able to determine why that is.
The Effects of Laughter
A good, hearty laugh can do the following:
• Relax the whole body by relieving physical tension and stress for up to 45 minutes
• Boost the immune system by decreasing stress hormones
• Make you feel good and temporarily relieve or decrease the perception of pain by releasing endorphins
• Improve heart function and increase blood flow, which can help prevent heart attack and other cardiovascular problems
Researchers have been able to show that even the anticipation of a good laugh can lower stress and boost the immune system.
The Science of Laughter
When the body is under stress it reacts with a “fight or flight response” and increases cortisol levels in response.
Cortisol
Cortisol plays an important role in regulating blood sugar and producing energy, and in the body’s ability to protect itself from and fight off infections, viruses, illnesses and healing. Increased levels of cortisol are linked with weight gain - particularly around the abdomen - accelerated aging, and gastrointestinal ulcers.
Cortisol increases when stress increases. It doesn’t really matter if the stress is real or imagined, physical, envirommental, chemical or otherwise. The body is basically put on full alert and focused only on survival. It puts all other physiological responses on hold, including inflammatory responses which would normally protect the body from infections and bacteria. Since healing requires energy, this process is also stopped and the energy diverted to survive. To further increase energy levels, glycogen stores are released from the liver and muscle tissue, which in turn increase blood sugar. Digestion and absorption are also halted to focus on this new threat. With all the stressors in our lives, our bodies grow accustomed to these new levels of hormones.
It is interesting to note that in those people who admit to being under a great deal of stress for long, ongoing periods of time, when the elements of stress are relieved, for example on a vacation, retirement or change of position, they are agitated and don’t know what do to with themselves. For this reason many people fear “down time” instead of just taking it as it comes. They’re always busy agreeing to this thing and the other. This is because the body becomes so accustomed to the level of hormone output that when it’s not the body feels lost. Sometimes people will generate stress for themselves by worrying or creating stressful or fearful situations for themselves whether or not there is actual foundation for their worry and fear – as is the case for some post-traumatic stress disorder patients.
It also relates to negativity addiction for some. We get so used to that level of activity that our body craves it.
Unfortunately, we all know that maintaining such stress levels wears on our bodies — our mental health and physical health, particularly increasing the chances of cardiovascular issues and being unable to respond adequately to actual illnesses, even the common cold because our bodies are so busy “fighting” off whatever situation we’ve been in whether real or imagined.
Researchers have found that even the anticipation of “mirthful laughter” increased beta-endorphins, which alleviate depression and the human growth hormone (HGH), part of the immune system - 27 and 87 percent respectively. Study subjects also displayed reduced levels of cortisone, epinephrine (aka adrenaline) and dopac, a brain chemical that produces epinephrine – 39, 70 and 38 percent respectively. “Chronically released high stress hormone levels can weaken the immune system” (www.eurekalert.com).
Kids driving you nuts? Bad drive home? Boss giving you a headache? Perhaps a few moments of laughter a day won’t make all your problems disappear, but we could all do with a little less stress in our lives don’t we? I would much rather be addicted to laughter than the stress hormones that these daily situations bring up.
Why not take a few moments now. If none of the family-friendly links below does it for you, find your own!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDOO3FvGsZ4
Sources: www.helpguide.org; www.advance-health.com; Krupa, Donna, “New Study find anticipating a laugh reduces our stress hormones”, American Physiological Society, April 7, 2008, (accessed through www.eurekaalert.org, January 11, 2011).