It may seem like a no-brainer to say that laughter makes you feel good. And that when you're happy, you just might come out with a chortle, giggle, guffaw or horse laugh. Yep, it's all ridiculously simple. Any chuckle-head can figure this out.
But laughter is more complicated than you may think.
Just ask the researchers who've immersed themselves in gelotology. That's the physiological study of laughter. There's a breed of scientists who are very serious about what makes people laugh, and what happens to them when they do.
Psychoneuroimmunology is described in an article on the Neuroscience for Kids website as a combination of psychology, neuroscience and immunology.
It explores how the brain and immune system interact, and studies how stress impacts illness and the nervous system.
Stress hormones and neurotransmitter levels and aspects of the autonomic nervous system are affected by laughter. Levels of catecholomaines, cortisol and growth hormone decrease after an hour of laughing at a video.
A wave of electricity washes over your entire cerebral cortex four-tenths of a second after you hear something funny and before you laugh, Psychology Today says.
John Morreall, president of HUMORWORKS Seminars in Tampa, Florida, reports that laughter causes relaxation, with a greater than normal drop in blood pressure and heart rate. Laughing triggers endorphins which are natural painkillers as well.
Lee Berk and Stanley Tan, both of the Loma Linda School of Medicine, in Loma Linda, California, found in research that the immune system's T lymphocytes and natural killer cells are activated, boosting the body’s ability to fight infection.
Laughter boosts gamma interferon production, which enhances the immune system. Immune cell production is amped up. Greater stress can cause a reduced immune response. Stress hormone cortisol decreases, protecting immune response.
According to an article on Neuroscience for Kids, laughter can decrease levels of neurochemicals like catecholamines and hormones. It can clear mucus and help ventilation. Some hospitals have Humor Rooms using laughter to aid in morale and perhaps help a patient to recover faster.
Research from the University of Maryland indicated that blood vessels respond to tense situations by restricting blood flow, and to humorous ones by contracting and expanding more easily.
Blood sugar levels of diabetics who saw a comedy had lower blood glucose levels than diabetics who had sat through a boring lecture, according to an article on Web MD.
Laughter stimulates oxygen intake, muscles, lungs, heart, and endorphin production, an article on the Mayo Clinic website reported. It can activate and also reduce your stress response. It stimulates your circulation and relaxes muscles.
In the long term, laughter enhances your immune system. Different chemicals are released in the body when laughing than when stressed out. Pain may be reduced by increased endorphins.
So the next time someone makes fun of your sense of humor, or suggests that cracking up over something simple is somehow beneath you or a waste of time, you know they're missing the point.
Whether you are in stitches over a sit-com or chuckling about some deeply philosophical irony of life, you're performing an important service to your mental, emotional and physical health. So get down to serious business — throw back your head and laugh hard and long.
Sources:
Happily Ever Laughter. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199607/happily-ever-laughter
Laughter and the Brain. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/laugh.html
Stress relief from laughter? It's no joke. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/s...
Why, for some, laughter is the best medicine. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter
This Is Your Brain On Laughter
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16977/this-is-your-brain-on-laughter.html
Visit Jody's website at http://www.ncubator.ca
Reviewed April 8, 2015
by Michele Blacksberg RN