Different strokes for different folks, they say, but it's probably safe to say that everyone likes to laugh. Experts say that, on average, an adult laughs about 17 times a day. So, we've made this list long enough so that you can have at least 17 chuckles while you're scrolling through it!
But what if you don't have some memes queued up on your phone when you're having a tough moment? How can you brighten your day with laughter then? Forcing yourself to laugh might be just what you need. Those who practice laughter yoga claim that fake laughter can be just as effective as natural laughter. But is that true?
Our brains are capable of knowing the difference between fake and natural laughter when someone else is laughing. But when it's us, it's more difficult to tell. When we hear or observe others laugh, the activity in our medial prefrontal cortex is negatively correlated with how genuine the laugh is.
But with any form of simulated laughter, like yoga laughter, we might trick our brains and bodies into giving us the benefits of laughter. What are those benefits, exactly? Research has found that the act of laughter reduces the level of stress hormones and increases blood flow to the heart.
What's more, even the anticipation of laughter can improve our mood. A 2023 British Heart Foundation study found that laughter therapy improved patients' heart health and circulation.
Laughter yoga leader Clive St James told the BBC that the brain doesn't know the difference between a forced and a real laugh. "If you laugh for no reason, you still get your daily dose of those lovely endorphins," he claimed.
So, what do these laughter yogis actually do? They don't just sit around in a circle and force themselves to laugh. They combine laughter with a usual yoga practice, which often involves poses and a lot of stretching. As Clive St James explained, people usually laugh on the out-breath as a form of exhale.
In a way, laughter yoga can feel liberating since there are no comedy or jokes. People don't feel the pressure to find things funny and don't have to feel the disappointment when a joke falls flat. "Anyone can laugh for 15-20 minutes without depending upon great sense of humor, jokes or comedy, "laughter coach Francine Shore explained to NBC News.
Sometimes, the simulated laughter can even turn into real laughter during a laughter yoga session. Some people might start to laugh genuinely just from the fact that they find themselves in a pretty funny predicament: forcing belly laughs while being in a downward dog position. Laughter is also contagious; our facial muscles prepare to join in when we hear someone else laugh.
Forceful laughter can also put us in a meditative state, since we're breathing in a particular way when we laugh. Laughter makes our exhales longer, which is the basis of the yogic concept of breathing (also called pranayama). One study foundthat yogic breathing can help lower systolic blood pressure, and another suggests that it helps decrease stress.
