Wars, famine, sadness, rising costs and crazy politics. It's enough to leave even the calmest person feeling totally strung out. And while it might seem easier to curl up into a ball and cry, there is another way to cope: a good bout of laughter.
According to experts at Newport Academy, laughter triggers the nervous system’s relaxation response. It relieves physical tension, and can leave your muscles relaxed for as long as 45 minutes. And when your muscles are relaxed, often, your mind follows suit.
Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins. These are the natural chemicals in our bodies that promote a sense of well-being and help relieve stress.
"Laughter counteracts feelings of anxiety and sadness. Moreover, it helps us release other intense emotions, such as grief," adds the Newport Academy site.
A good giggle can also cause our cortisol levels decrease. "Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone, so lower levels are better for our mental health," explain the mental health experts. "Therefore, laughter increases our stress resilience."
“There’s a lot of literature that shows that Americans these days are more or less living in a ‘fight or flight’ response,” says health psychologist Dr. Grace Tworek. “Evolutionarily, that’s not what we’re made to do."
Tworek explains that 'fight or flight' is our natural stress response that allows us to run away from a saber-toothed tiger. "It’s supposed to be short-lived," adds the expert. "But the stress that many of us are living with day to day is triggering that response continually.”
As we mentioned earlier, laughter is a great way to beat stress. And Tworek advises that you find a way to incorporate it into your daily life, whether it be by watching a comedy, sharing a joke, spending time with a goofy dog, or scrolling through a list of hilarious memes.
“Letting out a good laugh makes you feel more relaxed because it disarms your nervous system,” says Tworek. “If you think about a moment when you were finding humor in life, it can be like nothing else mattered but that genuine joy that you were feeling.”
Even when you feel you can't find the humor in a situation, it pays to laugh at something. As the Cleveland Clinic site puts it: Think about laughter as a lifestyle rather than a prescription.
Tworek says sometimes it's as simple as just taking a moment to reflect on something that brings you joy.
“When someone’s in a funk, one exercise I like to recommend is to just think back to something that usually would make you smile,” the expert explains. “For some people, it’s a song. For some people, it’s a walk around the block or being out in the sunlight.”
Try to make laughter a habit, and your nervous system will thank you.
According to Tworek, planning and scheduling things that bring you joy is a something we can all benefit from. This is something known as ‘behavioral activation.'
“Sometimes, when we’re stressed, it can feel like we don’t have time for pleasure. We put our happiness at the bottom of the list," explains Tworek. "But it’s doing things we enjoy that will relieve the stress more than completing that long list of things we feel we have to do.”
