Everyone enjoys a good laugh, and it’s a great way to make you feel good and be happy.
But have you ever wondered why we laugh or what effect it has on our bodies?
Here are ten health benefits of laughing that you should know.
Laughter can help to reduce pain.
Many people who laugh often have reduced pain and live a longer, healthier life.
It is thought that people who have a positive outlook on life are more likely to laugh.
Laughing releases endorphins that make us happy, and the happier we are, the less pain we experience.
If your body is in good shape, you are less likely to experience high amounts of pain, not just mentally but physically.
The average person laughs about thirteen times in a single day.
A child aged six years old laughs about three times more than an adult.
Regular laughter can prevent illness.
Laughing has many health benefits, and one of the main effects is on your immune system.
Heavy laughter every day can strengthen your immune system, which will reduce the number of infections you are likely to develop.
Laughing heavily also brings in much more oxygen to the lungs than normal breathing would do, which not only helps us expand our lung capacity, but it brings more oxygen into our bloodstream, keeping us healthier.
Evidence shows that after laughing, our stress levels drop.
Research shows that there is a considerable drop in the levels of stress hormones after a good laughing session.
This is because when we laugh, we release endorphins.
Endorphins are released when we are happy, and they can bring positive changes to a person’s mindset.
Ten to fifteen minutes of laughing a day can help you lose weight.
When we laugh, we burn calories, as laughing is similar to when we exercise.
Our heart rate and blood pressure rise, and endorphins are released.
A study carried out by Vanderbilt University Medical Centre revealed that laughing burns calories.
Their results showed that laughing between ten to fifteen minutes can burn between 10-40 calories!
Laughing helps others stay healthy.
If you see people laughing, the chances are it will make you smile, even if you are unsure of the context.
This is because our brain recognizes the sound of laughter and prepares our muscles in our face to join in with the happiness.
A study at the University College London concluded that we know that humans will mirror or mimic the actions of other humans, and laughter is the same.
So by spreading laughter, you are helping others keep happy and healthy.
The harder you laugh, the healthier you will be.
Gelotology comes from the Greek word “gelo,” which means laughter.
Psychiatrists first studied gelotology, which is the study of laughter from a psychological and physiological perspective.
Stanford University professor William F. Fry was one of the pioneers of this study.
To study the effects of laughter, he would draw blood from test subjects at various intervals while watching something funny.
His studies found that when the person was in peak laughter, more immune system-boosting cells were being produced and were present in the blood.
This showed that a harder laugh produced more immune-boosting cells, which is beneficial to our health.
Deliberate laughter can be a sign of mental health problems.
Deliberate laughing can signal problems or insecurities within us. Your brain can tell the difference between someone faking a laugh and a real genuine laugh.
Not only can your brain tell the difference, it reacts differently to a staged laugh.
When you can tell a laugh is being staged, your brain has increased activity in the anterior medial prefrontal cortex.
This part of our brain helps us identify others’ emotions and allows us to react to a fake laugh in a sensitive way.
When exposed to a fake laugh, it allows us to become better at understanding other humans.
Laughter is a form of bonding.
Many people think that laughter is the reaction to something funny; however, it is actually a way of communicating.
The science of laughter indicates that laughter is a form of communication and shows when we are fond of someone.
We laugh more when we are with others and when we are not laughing at jokes.
We are 30 times more likely to laugh at something if we are with somebody.
A laugh is a way of communicating an element of surprise. This helps us keep happy and healthy relationships, which allows us to retain positive mental health.
Laughing is a workout for your abs!
As well as burning calories, laughing also works out your abs.
When we laugh, our stomach muscles expand and contract as we take quick breaths in and out.
This means that we are working out and toning our abs!
