Laughter has an awesome, positive effect on both your body and mind. On top of that, it’s potentially great for your emotional welfare and social life, too. If anything, you should aim to laugh more often (with other people, too!), if possible. The quality of your health and life depends on it.
As UCLA Health points out, laughter:
- Improves your immune system
- Decreases stress
- Improves your heart health
- Relieves pain
- Supports mental health
When you laugh, your body increases the production of immune cells and antibodies in your blood, UCLA Health explains. This means that your defenses against germs and infections are stronger, meaning you live an overall healthier life.
What’s more, laughter decreases the amount of cortisol in your system. It’s estimated that a single session of laughter, regardless of length or the reason behind it, can reduce the levels of this stress hormone by a whopping 37%. This is vital because chronic stress speeds up aging and leads to inflammation, which then increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.
Regular laughter is also great for your heart health and reduces the risk of heart disease or stroke.
“Every time you laugh, your heart rate and respiratory (breathing) rate increase. As a result, your heart beats stronger and faster, sending more oxygenated blood throughout the body. The improved circulation reduces the risk of heart disease,” UCLA Health notes.
Moreover, laughter also lowers your blood pressure. This happens because it reduces the amount of stress hormones in your system. The latter work by restricting your blood vessels and adding tension to your heart.
Laughter, whether spontaneous or achieved via laughter therapy, is good for pain relief as well. Laughing increases your pain tolerance, changes your perception of what’s happening to you, and stimulates the release of feel-good chemicals, endorphins, which are your body’s natural painkillers.
And all of this on top of the fact that laughter can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms, leading to more positive mental health outcomes. For one, when you laugh, your body releases chemicals like dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, which are linked to pleasure, motivation, and learning.
What’s more, when you laugh alongside other people, it helps you connect with them. It also fosters a feeling of belonging. Because human beings are social animals, and a big part of our health, happiness, and longevity is linked to positive, strong relationships, it only makes sense that you look for ways to foster those social connections. Finding something to laugh at together is one way to do this.
If you feel like you’re not laughing enough, you can be very intentional about scheduling more time for humor in your routine. Remember that, even though spontaneous laughter is lots of fun, you get the positive effects when you force yourself to laugh, too.
Looking at funny and relatable memes aside, you need to develop the habit of laughing more.
For instance, you could try to reframe some of the negative things that happen to you in a more positive light, looking for that silver lining. You should also consider scheduling actual laugh breaks per day, where you intentionally watch funny videos, shows, or standups, talk to your funniest family and friends, etc. Furthermore, you could try going to a laughter yoga session so that you’re in a more social setting (and also introduce more exercise into your life).
