The Essential Health Benefits of Laughter 

Overview on Laughter

Laughter, a merry heart does the body good like medicine. You have been told to eat fruits, vegetables, proteins, and so much more to maintain your health. Here’s the easiest remedy to being healthy – laugh as much as you can.

It’s no joke that laughter makes you look fantastic, but it also has some great benefits for your health. Almost everyone knows that laughter is a stress-reliever, the biggest health culprit (1).

If you’re still not convinced to consider laughter as a great medicine to stay healthy, then here are some benefits of laughter on health.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. – Proverbs 17:22 kjv

Stimulates Organs

The more you laugh, the more oxygen you intake through your mouth. The oxygen that goes into your body helps stimulate muscles, heart, brain, and lungs. This wonderful laughing therapy further signals the brain to produce more endorphins. It’s a hormone that is known as a health-enhancing hormone. It also increases the amount of antibody-producing cells in our body, further increasing T-cells’ effectiveness (2).

Stress Management

Stress can cause fine lines, influence heart rate, weaken the immune system, and so much more. If you want to avoid a plethora of health problems in one go, then try going to a laughing therapy session or watch or listed to some good clean comedy. You might have seen a lot of people laughing in groups in parks or other areas. It’s an effective stress management therapy (3).

Laughing reduces the production of stress hormones, including epinephrine, cortisol, growth hormone, and dopamine. A good laughing session can reduce the stress response that helps maintain the heart’s rate and body pressure.

Soothes Tension

Stress is one of the many reasons for tension in the body. If you’re experiencing it, then try out the free laughing therapy to get rid of it. Laughter helps in muscle relaxation along with stimulating circulation in the body. When this happens, the physical symptoms of tension automatically vanish from the body.

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Improves Immune System

A weakened immune system is a gateway for a lot of diseases. If you do not want to get sick, then laughter can help you improve your immune health.

The negative thoughts that a person has throughout the day cause chemical reactions in the body. Often you might have witnessed a need to go to the bathroom or vomit when inflicted by a stressful situation. The chemical reactions bring more stress into your system, weakening the immune system (4).

On the other hand, having positive thoughts releases neuropeptides responsible for strengthening your immune system. Will power is often considered the first factor to fight a serious illness because it’s associated with a plethora of positive thinking.

If you’re looking for an easy way to fight your illness along with treatment, then laughter is the best medicine for it.

Improves Mood

Depression and anxiety are very common among individuals. Often a serious or chronic illness is a reason behind them. People with some health conditions often suffer from low self-esteem, which constantly affects their mood.

Along with therapy, a good laugh about people’s opinions might be a great way to fight depression and anxiety (5). If you go through sudden lows and highs throughout the day, then try to focus on the good things around you that bring you happiness.

If your mood is good, you will become a better person as well. Furthermore, it will help you in increasing your self-esteem.

Increases Personal Satisfaction

A lot of problems come from a person’s disassociation from normal life. Suppose you don’t talk or interact much, especially in our current pandemic climate. In that case, you’re more likely to end up in depression or anxiety when inflicted with a negative situation.

Laughing with people is a great way to connect with them and share a good time. Having people around can help you in coping up with negative situations more confidently. It increases personal satisfaction as well.

Relieves Pain

Did you know that laughing can help you in producing your body’s natural painkillers? Yes, it’s possible.

If you haven’t heard about it before, then try out this simple remedy to relieve pain. It releases endorphins, which are the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Hence, it can temporarily relieve pain.

Great Therapy for Emotional Release

Do you often feel the rush to cry or scream? Are you often in a bad mood?

If it’s the case with you, then try laughter. No one can stay angry or low when they are laughing. It’s a great way to feel charged again and forget about the worries for a while.

In short, laughing is an excellent therapy to keep good mental health. Furthermore, it brings you close to other people, which further influences your emotional health. It further allows you to see a situation more realistically without feeling overwhelmed by it.

Final Thoughts

When the world seems like a heavy, crazy place, it’s hard to put a blind eye to it. However, the damage can be controlled with a shared laugh with your loved ones.

The easiest way to avoid getting further inflicted by illnesses is by staying happy. Gratitude is considered to

be one of the best ways to maintain good mental health. It helps the person pay attention to what they have rather than focusing on what they don’t.

The health benefits of laughter cannot be avoided. There is plenty of research on the direct relation between laughter and certain health problems. If you have surrounded yourself with negative people and content, then start by eliminating these factors out of your life.

Focus on staying happy and keep a positive mindset to avoid further problems in your life. Your negative thinking directly impacts your health, so the best way is to avoid unnecessary problems. Make sure to laugh as much as you can with your favorite people to reduce the risk of certain diseases. Laughter will shift your perspective in no time!

Remember, a merry heart does the body good like medicine.

To Your Health!

References

1. Mora-Ripoll, Ramon. “The therapeutic value of laughter in medicine.” Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine6 (2010).
2. Miller, Michael, and William F. Fry. “The effect of mirthful laughter on the human cardiovascular system.” Medical hypotheses5 (2009): 636-639.
3. Paquet, J. B. “Laughter and stress management in the OR.” Today’s OR nurse6 (1993): 13-17.
4. Bennett, Mary P., et al. “The effect of mirthful laughter on stress and natural killer cell activity.” (2003): 38.
5. Yim, JongEun. “Therapeutic benefits of laughter in mental health: a theoretical review.” The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine 239.3 (2016): 243-249.