Laughing All the Way

Every once in a while my husband goes on a business trip and we typically spend time on the phone with each other in the evening catching up and sharing with the other the adventures or thoughts of the day. My husband is a neuroscientist (i.e., he studies the brain and how it stores memory). His scientific meetings are often held in beautiful and tropical locales and this one was held in Boca Raton. I always found the site of the meeting a bit odd since the majority of the attendees are more than happy to spend 12 hours cloistered in a darkened auditorium listening to presentations by other neuroscientists or poring over posters deep within the bowels of a convention center only to surface into the natural environment of sunshine long enough to change clothes for dinner before heading off to the evening meetings. The other night he shared with me a lecture he attended with the unlikely title of "Do Rats Laugh?" The model for most academic research is rodent: mouse or rat. Of all the meetings I have attended with my hubby, none have focused on whether the toothy subjects chortle. My husband said the lecture hall, holding around 300 folks, laughed along with the video and presentation of rats apparently laughing while being tickled on their hairy bellies. Check it out yourself at this link.

In any case, it got me thinking about how we humans have evolved to experience a range of emotions and how the ones that feel the best, laughter and joy, are at times elusive. Who hasn’t experienced the domino effect of laughter? Sometimes it starts out low and then ripples from one person to the next until it washes over you and you find yourself overcome by the giggle bug. Perhaps you caught it all by yourself while watching a movie or reading a scene in a book; something in the scene tickled you and you couldn’t help but smile, or maybe even bark a laugh. I have even woken myself up on occasion, laughing out loud while in a dream.

Humor and laughter set of a number of physical effects into play and all of them positive. Besides enhancing our lives with joy and connection with others, laughter strengthens our immune system and helps us recover from illness—and best of all, it’s FREE! This healing act is not dependent on an insurance carrier, a particular provider or certain office hours—you can access this health-booster any time, day or night. Here are some laugh-facts I’ve culled from the internet (a particularly great article was written by Leslie Lindeman, Kemp, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, PhD) and other sources—let the laughter begin!

Laughing relaxes and heals the body. A good giggle reduces problems associated with high blood pressure, strokes, arthritis, and ulcers. Daily laughter is important, researchers at Loma Linda University in California have been studying the effects of laughter on the immune system. To date their published studies have shown that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being. People who laugh on a regular basis have lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body. Some research suggests that laughter may also reduce the risk of heart disease. Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a study at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease. Historically, research has shown that distressing emotions (depression, anger, anxiety, and stress) are all related to heart disease. The UMMC study suggests that a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at stressful situations helps mitigate the damaging physical effects of distressing emotions. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse.

Laughter provides us with a good workout. Laughter can be a great workout for your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles. It massages abdominal organs, tones intestinal functioning, and strengthens the muscles that hold the abdominal organs in place. Not only does laughter give your midsection a workout, it can benefit digestion and absorption functioning as well. It is estimated that hearty laughter can burn calories equivalent to several minutes on the rowing machine or the exercise bike.

Laughter helps our brain. Laughter stimulates the brain to enhance learning. It eases muscle tension and psychological stress, which keeps the brain alert and allows people to retain more information.

Laughter unites families. Families who are able to laugh together or see humor in situations together are those that are share the closest bonds. Humor binds people together and allows them to move through difficult times united. No family is perfect, and when one can laugh about situations or interactions rather than stepping into tension and hostility, everyone benefits. Mood is elevated by striving to find humor in difficult and frustrating situations. Laughing at ourselves and the situation helps reveal that small things are not the earth-shaking events they sometimes seem to be. Looking at a problem from a different perspective can make it seem less formidable and provide opportunities for greater objectivity and insight. Humor also helps us avoid loneliness by connecting with others who are attracted to genuine cheerfulness. And the good feeling that we get when we laugh can remain with us as an internal experience even after the laughter subsides.

Humor shifts the ways in which we think. It is not situations that generate our stress, it is the meaning we place on the situations. Humor adjusts the meaning of an event so that it is not so overwhelming.

So now you have plenty of information about why it is good for you and your health to find reason to laugh each day. When you find yourself stuck in a bad mood, try to shift your perspective and ask yourself the following questions:

• Is it really worth getting upset over?
• Is it worth upsetting others?
• Is it that important?
• Is the situation irreparable? Is it really my problem?

Need some help toning your funny bone? Here are a few suggestions:

• Watch comedy DVDs and TV shows.
• Go to comedy clubs.
• Listen to comedy while driving.
• Read comic authors.
• Seek out funny people.
• Spend less time with overly serious people.

Thought for the Day: Lighten up and find humor in a situation today. Share a laugh with a friend or coworker and enjoy the health benefits of a good guffaw.

I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth." ~Quincy Jones