By the way, don’t underestimate how much smiling, or even better, laughing, can do for your well-being. Seriously.
We might not know exactly why laughter developed (though researchers think it helped early humans bond and survive as social groups), but we do know that it’s basically a superpower for your mental and physical health.
Psychologically, laughter gives your mood an instant boost and helps melt away stress and anxiety.
On the physical side, it actually lowers cortisol (your stress hormone) and increases dopamine and serotonin, the chemicals that help you feel happy and calm.
In other words, laughing is genuinely good for you.
And honestly, if you’re not making time to laugh or enjoy yourself in some way, you’re kind of short-changing your own brain.
“When you’re not regularly activating the pleasure/reward centers of the brain, they go offline. So, in order to feel good, we have to practice feeling good. And laughing is one of the most cost-effective ways to do that,” says Natalie Dattilo, an instructor of psychology in Harvard Medical School’s Psychiatry Department.
Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, I probably laugh enough. I see memes every day!”
But… not so fast. Hate to break it to you, but you might not be getting your full dose of giggles.
There’s no official laughter recommendation (yet), but here’s a stat for perspective: the average 4-year-old laughs around 300 times a day. The average 40-year-old? Just four.
Yikes. That’s not exactly what you’d call “thriving.”
And considering that by 40 you’re entering the stage where your body starts sending you weird notifications (“your knee has expired,” anyone?), laughter starts looking even more like a smart health strategy.
Laughter releases nitric oxide, a chemical that relaxes blood vessels, reduces blood pressure, and helps prevent clotting, according to Dr. Michael Miller, a cardiologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
And the science keeps backing it up: one long-term study in Japan found that older adults who laughed more often had a lower risk of serious heart issues. Another study in Norway even found that people with a strong sense of humor tend to live longer, especially women.
If you’re having a hard time finding something to smile about (thanks, economy), try sharing a laugh with someone else. No, really, connection matters.
In 2004, Carl Marci, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, led a study looking at laughter not just in individuals but in pairs, specifically, psychiatrists and patients dealing with anxiety and depression. Despite the serious topics, they still managed to laugh about 15 times during each 50-minute session.
