THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER

The health benefits of laughter



The health benefits of laughter

Introduction

Almost every one of us has heard the adage 'Laughter is the best medicine” for many times. The saying holds much truth in the rapidly changing and, to some extent, troubling world. The finite planet with all its depleting resources, waning beauty and ever increasing population has considerably added to our stress levels. This demands that we must anchor ourselves with some of the healthiest practices. Laughter is one such practice. Laughter is good for our bodies as well as our souls, and has some surprising health benefits.

Laughter represents happiness or an inner feeling of joy. It may result from many stimuli such as hearing a joke, being tickled, watching a funny movie, reading comedy etc. It is in most cases a pleasant experience for us. Laughter is different from humor, which are an intellectual phenomenon and a learned behavior. A 6 month baby would still laugh when her dad makes funny faces though she has no sense of humor. Laughter can also be contagious. This simply means that laughter begets laughter or that others simply laugh to show their positive response for your laughter. (Camazin, Bonabeau, 2003)

A lot of research is being carried out regarding the potential benefits of laughter. Several studies have shown that laughter is connected to smoothing of body functions and strengthening of the defense system. (Brent Q. Hafen, 1996)

Some of the most important benefits of laughter are discussed hereunder:

Hormonal Support: Laughter results in reduction of hormones of stress like adrenaline and cortisol. It also adds to your dopamine hormone1 and growth hormones. It also raises the number of health friendly hormones such as neurotransmitters and endorphins. Laughter also helps increase the number of cells in antibodies production and improves the quality ...