With its entertaining content posted daily, the Instagram account “Daily Humor Memes” (DHM) contributes to netizens’ well-being by making them giggle.
Bored Panda reached out to laughter ambassador and laughter yoga trainer Lotte Mikkelsen and joy coach, laughter champion, and laughter yoga teacher Carla H. Brown, who kindly agreed to tell us more about laughter.
Mikkelsen defined a hearty chuckle as an amazing tonic that releases a joy cocktail, counterbalancing stress chemicals in our bodies. “By simply lowering stress, we improve our ability to fight illness and recover quicker. When you think about laughing, and perhaps the last time you had a really good belly laugh, you may remember how it made you feel. It lifts your mood big-time and reduces negativity.
The brain not only increases levels of happy hormones, endorphins, but also serotonin, which is our natural anti-depressant, along with dopamine, our reward chemical, and love hormone, oxytocin - just to name a few of the most well-known and often mentioned ones.”
Brown also highlights its refreshing properties for the brain, the body, and the nervous system. “It engages and liberates the diaphragm, forcing you to inhale more deeply and exhale more powerfully (expelling more carbon dioxide), expanding your intake of oxygen-rich air, and carrying it to your brain and bloodstream,” she adds.
She explains that laughter interrupts the stress cycle and stops the mind from thinking, stopping the production of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. “Not only do people feel lighter and more relaxed after a laughter session, but they frequently sleep better, because the diaphragm is a center point for the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system in charge of relaxing and engaging sleep.”
Did you know that laughing is contagious? Brown mentions that when we laugh in a group, even when we don’t feel like laughing, the body is pushed to the positive bonding experience with others, and the laughter becomes real.
She also told us, “This contagious process happens, partially, due to the mirror neurons, which all of us have. Mirror neurons copy what we see other people do. Laughter liberates repressed emotions being held in the body. It is a powerful way to move stuck energy and improve mental and emotional health. In order for the laughter to be beneficial, it must be engaging and sustaining. The optimum is 10 to 15 minutes of hearty belly laughter on a regular basis.”
Laughter isn't as one-dimensional as some might think. Mikkelsen claims that it can be used for the greater good or even to hurt someone. It can have negative effects when someone isn’t involved in a joke or when people get too involved and funny banter starts targeting specific individuals.
But that’s exactly why laughter yoga is the perfect solution for some, as it doesn't rely on jokes and doesn’t require a great sense of humor. During it, people tap into their natural state of play and bring out the playfulness that they might have forgotten through their adult years. It’s done through laughter exercises combined with deep breathing, hence the name laughter yoga.
“When we laugh in this way, there is no pointing fingers and simply a willingness to enjoy the multitude of benefits we get when we laugh. It is also recommended to laugh alone so you can continue to experience the benefits of greater emotional, mental, and physical health and well-being.”
Brown, based on her more than 15 years of experience with intentional laughter, distinguishes four types of laughter. First, there is someone who's just getting started in a laughter practice, and their laughter sounds forced because their body is not in the habit of laughing.
Second is the repressed laughter- when you can tell that a person is uncomfortable with laughing and so the mind is involved, judging the laughter practice, and not fully engaging.
Then there is laughter that has intense emotions underneath, like sadness, anger, or rage and ends up touching into and releasing those emotions through the process of laughing. (you could also say, "sad, laughter, angry, laughter, nervous laughter, uncomfortable after.)
The last one is joyous laughter, where a person is touching on sincere, authentic joy through their laughter. You can feel it when you’re around them.
Both experts agree that laughter can, in fact, be learned. Brown shared, “Otherwise, I would still be depressed and anxious. I consider myself a recovering “serious person," a persona I developed as a child of neglect, dealing with high stress and significant traumatic experiences on my own, and feeling anxious and scared most of the time.
The reason it's important to cultivate a practice of intentional laughter on a daily basis, is because the body has the capacity to carry memories of past experiences. When we laugh, the body doesn't know the difference, so it signals the brain to release happy chemicals, which help you feel better instantly, even if your thoughts aren't feeling positive or uplifting.
Daily laughter has been proven to lift depression and relieve anxiety. I just ran a 14-day Laughter Enjoy reset in January and had many people report that they felt more energized and less heavy and lethargic after 14 days of laughing daily. I consider laughter to be a practice, like anything else. The more we do it, the more of a habit it becomes in the body, and the easier it is.
Typically, in many cultures, a reason to laugh is based on an external stimulus. A daily, regular laughter practice will change your life! Laughter yoga is a great way to do that!”
