I adore a good chuckle. Not just any variety of chuckle—a really hearty one. The kind that leaves you gasping for air, clutching your mid-section and complaining about how much your face hurts for minutes after. I love the variety of laughter that arrives when all inhibitions are released; when there is no worry about what’s right, what’s acceptable, what’s proper or how or what others are seeing; laughter that urges you to reach out to someone, if only to avoid falling. Beyond blissful is the type of unguarded laughter that instantaneously invites others to this euphoric place, alongside you; even if they have no idea what you’re laughing about.
Laughter is such an innate, unlearned response. Infants begin to smile during the first few weeks of life and begin to laugh only months into their journey. It is awe-stirring that we are all born with this intrinsic affinity towards smiling and making noise out of pure delight for…errr…whatever we find funny. For anyone (that would be all of us?) who simply feels really incredible after a hearty laugh, laughter having measurable benefits won’t come as a surprise—or maybe even an interest. However, for those with enough intrigue to intermingle the whole beautiful, riotous mess with a smidgen of science, here are eight very good reasons we all should lean into a belly laugh (or 20) every day.
Laughter relaxes the whole body.
A good, body-involving laugh evaporates stress and relieves physical tension, relaxing muscles for a stretch of up to an hour after.
Laughter releases endorphins.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of endorphins: any of a group of endogenous peptides found especially in the brain that bind chiefly to opiate receptors and produce some pharmacological effects (as pain relief) like those of opiates.
My simple definition of endorphins: feel-good, feel-happy chemicals.
Laughter boosts your immune system.
I’ve come across several studies that suggest that laughter helps to boost your immune system through decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells/infection-fighting abilities, improving the body’s overall resistance to disease.
Laughter protects your heart.
Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, decreasing high blood pressure, which can help protect against a heart attack and other cardiovascular complications.
Laughter dissolves distressing emotions.
Go ahead. Enjoy a good laugh the next time you and your partner are spiritedly processing through a difference. It’s so difficult to feel nervous, angry or sad while you’re deep in authentic laughter.
Laughter holds us in the present moment.
When we’re laughing, we’re focused on whatever is funny in the moment. We’re not replaying the past or worrying about the future. We’re simply enjoying what is here—what is now.
Laughter helps us connect with others.
Simply written: it feels good to laugh with someone. It feels great to laugh with someone. It feels great to laugh with anyone. Laughter is a sort of bonding cement—deepening the bonds that we experience with people we’re already close with, and forging bonds with people we’ve only recently met. Feeling connected is, in general, one of the most important foundations of good health.
Good humor shifts perspective.
This allows us to see situations in a less menacing light. Just as I was beginning to write this, my daughter (already in a questionable mood) stepped it up a notch or three on the voice decibel meter. Out of seemingly nowhere, I told her that she was acting like a pirate. She followed up with announcing that I was acting like a recycling can. We went back and forth, eventually wrapping up this nonsensical back and forth with “acting like a smurf’s knee.” By that time, we were both laughing so hard that we could barely understand each other. The moment was entirely transformed. Neither of us could recall what she was upset about to begin with. The ability to laugh, play and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable, it also helps to revamp problems and strengthen connections with others. People who incorporate playful humor into their daily lives discover that it renews not only themselves, but has a ripple effect—reaching many of the people surrounding them.
Regardless of how badly we might feel or how tough things may momentarily seem, laughter has the ability to immediately transform our surrounding matters. It has the ability to bring us into a cozy space; to a place of pure joy and bliss; to a new and more balanced perspective; to happiness, over and over again. There’s really nothing quite like a really good, from-the-gut, tears-streaming-down-the-face, nose-wiping, can’t-quite-breathe, where-did-the-seat-go, belly-aching guffaw.
To those for which a good laugh happens far too infrequently: the invitation is always there to just laugh. Laugh heartily. Laugh often. Laugh while you’re rolling out of bed. Laugh while you’re making breakfast. Laugh while you’re making love. Laugh, solo-style. Laugh in large crowds. Laugh while you’re crying. Laugh until you are crying. Laugh when your heart hurts. Laugh when your heart is happy. Laugh when it feels appropriate. Laugh when it feels inappropriate. Laugh until you have no idea what you’re laughing about…and then laugh some more.
And say cheers to consistently finding ourselves amidst a hearty concoction of unrestrained medicine. No doctor or therapist required.
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“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” —Victor Borge
“Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be.” —William Hazlitt
“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”
—Andrea Levy
(om yoga & lifestyle; april issue; 2014)
(organic lifestyle, 2012)
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so, what exactly do i have to do to get one of them spiffy red ribbons?
… and, enlighteningly delightful writing, as always.
i, in turn, was wondering what i have to do to get rid of the ‘spiffy red ribbon.’;) (and thank you, mgn.)