Bored Panda asked Ros Ben-Moshe, a wellbeing and positivity author, why laughter is such an important and necessary part of our lives.
“We’re living in challenging and uncertain times, with many people carrying stress, worry and overwhelm. Laughter helps interrupt that cycle. It doesn’t make problems disappear, but it helps us cope better, reconnect with ourselves and others, and create moments of relief and perspective. Laughter can positively shift our mindset, relationships and wellbeing,” she says.
She believes we need to intentionally make space for joy, humor and lightness.
A simple way to let go of negativity is through laughter, and there’s plenty of research to back that up.
A good laugh can actually help lower cortisol and epinephrine (the body’s fight or flight hormones) and boost endorphins — your natural feel-good chemicals.
“Humor helps us emotionally reset. It can diffuse tension, build connection, increase resilience and help us feel less alone. Finding the funny expands our perspective and reminds us there’s more than one way to respond to a challenging situation. The more we do this, the more we train our brain to seek and see the fun and funny,” Ros Ben-moshe explains.
“Positive emotions can help buffer stress, calm the nervous system and improve emotional wellbeing. They don’t replace professional support when needed, but they can help build resilience and emotional flexibility.”
Memes are like little cheat codes for your brain.
Research conducted during the pandemic found that viewing memes — particularly funny and relatable ones — was associated with higher levels of positive emotions compared to non-meme content.
Memes can also indirectly increase “coping efficacy,” or a person’s belief in their ability to manage a difficult situation.
The Facebook page these posts come from was created at the start of the lockdown in March 2020. The hundreds of thousands of followers it has since gained suggest a clear demand for this kind of feel-good content in difficult times.
“Content that encourages genuine connection, humor, kindness, creativity, inspiration and playful moments can all support positivity and wellbeing. Funny animal videos, uplifting stories, clever comedy and light-hearted everyday humor can genuinely brighten our mood,” notes Ros Ben-Moshe.
Dark humor memes offer comfort through relatability, but wholesome and positive memes have something more: hope.
These memes often use cute content like animals or babies, which, studies say, can grab our attention and distract our minds from immediate stressors.
They also try to turn a distressing thought into a humorous and sometimes inspirational image. This can help us look at a negative situation from a less threatened perspective.
Funny posts are not just brain food, though. Studies show that a hearty laugh can actually relieve physical tension and relax muscles for up to 45 minutes.
It can also boost our immunity in the long run.
A study found that genuine laughter increases the production of antibodies and activates immune cells. This strengthens the body’s resistance to illness.
In another study done in 2023, patients with coronary heart disease who regularly watched comedy saw improvements in their heart's circulatory system. It was found that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow.
Even 10 minutes of laughter can boost heart rate and oxygen intake similarly to light physical activity, which helps lower blood pressure over time.
Laughter is a free resource we’re all born with, but it’s not always something we use enough, especially as adults. Even babies laugh, smile, and react to playful moments.
Studies show that children laugh far more than adults. One study even suggests that children laugh up to 400 times a day compared to 15-20 times for adults.
One of the reasons for this gap is that as we age, we often suppress laughter to maintain a professional image or to avoid looking silly.
Another reason is experience. Laughter is usually a response to something unexpected, and as adults, we develop a sort of pattern recognition. Fewer things strike us as novel or strange enough to trigger a reflexive laugh.
“The real reason is far simpler — children laugh from the heart, while adults tend to laugh more from the head. Where a child might burst into a belly laugh, an adult might say, ‘That’s really funny’ and barely crack a smile,” says Ros Ben-Moshe.
This is why intentional humor — like following positive meme pages — is so important for adults to bridge that gap.
The best part about this kind of content online is that you won’t feel guilty of doom-scrolling.
Experts believe that while social media can be harmful, the intentional consumption of positive content acts as a protective buffer for your brain.
Coach in laughter, resilience, and wellbeing Ros Ben-Moshe believes we can train our social media algorithms towards more humor, fun and funny content by intentionally engaging with it.
“The algorithm notices what we watch, like and share. This is great news so we can intentionally curate more joy into our feeds and lives. We can get in the habit of ‘cheer-scrolling’ and not doomscrolling!”
