Is Laughter Really the Best Medicine?

Have you ever heard it said that laughter is the best medicine? Perhaps you’ve heard people talk about how healthy people are happy people, and happy people are healthy people.

While those statements may sound like cliches and self-help lingo, the truth is that there is a link between happiness and health. In fact, science has proven time and time again that people who laugh often are typically less stressed and experience greater healing. This level of healing includes physical, mental, and emotional healing.

If you feel like stress is a constant companion, it may be worth considering how often you’re laughing. While laughter isn’t some magical fix-all for stress relief, there certainly is some evidence that links laughter and stress relief.

Instead of viewing happiness as something that you can’t experience until you eliminate the stress from your life, think of what life might be like if you were able to use happiness as a weapon against the stress that you’re dealing with. Get ready to throw your head back and laugh a little. You’ll feel better in no time.

The Reduction of Stress Hormones

Everything that you feel, think, and do is tied to the chemicals that are released in your brain. Endorphins, which are the brain’s natural happiness chemicals, get released in higher quantities during laughter.

Endorphins, which are often referred to as the body’s natural pain relievers, operate in direct opposition to cortisol and adrenaline, two chemicals that the brain releases during periods of stress.

Typically, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the chemical releases that relate to different feelings. In the same way that you don’t consciously think about telling your eyes to blink, you don’t think about telling your brain to release certain chemicals.

These natural processes are simply part of the neurological system. Endorphins counteract adrenaline and cortisol, which means that you can actually cancel out some stress hormones simply by laughing.

Laughter also leads to greater oxygen intake, which is a proven method of helping your body relax. When your body gets more oxygen, your muscles and joints can relax, which cuts down on the physical tension that you’re feeling.

The sudden surge of oxygen that comes from laughing also helps the brain relax which helps you feel more energized and less stressed overall.

The Role of Laughter on the Immune System

Your immune system plays a major role in your overall health and wellness, and laughter has been shown to boost immune performance. When you laugh, your body produces more antibodies and activates immune cells like T-cells. T-cells help combat infections and various diseases, which means there is a link between laughter and health.

Laughter has also been shown to cut down on the amount of inflammation in the body. Inflammation is linked to several health conditions, ranging from arthritis to heart disease.

People with too much inflammation in their bodies also deal with autoimmune disorders. By laughing regularly, you trigger a response in the body that cuts down on this inflammation and keeps each of your body’s systems working at their best.

The correlation between laughter and the immune system is why people continue to say that people are healthier when they’re happy. It’s not just about taking a positive approach to what’s going on in your life.

Laughter and Social Bonding

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of social health in overall health and wellness. People with meaningful, positive relationships are happier and healthier than people who spend most of their time isolated from others.

Over the years, countless studies have been done on this topic, and it’s been proven time and time again that humans need to be connected to other humans. This innate need for meaningful relationships points to another important aspect of laughter and its role in healing and stress relief.

Laughter is usually a shared experience. While this doesn’t mean that you don’t ever laugh when you’re by yourself, it does mean that you’re more likely to laugh if you’re enjoying something with a friend or family member.

When you laugh, you form a bond that creates feelings of trust, support, and safety. These feelings lead to deeper bonds and more meaningful relationships.

Feelings of loneliness are linked directly to anxiety and depression, so strengthening your social connections through laughter is a great way to reduce the presence of those mental health issues in your life.

Instead of focusing only on the things that are going wrong and feeling like those problems are creating a wedge between you and others, fostering healthy relationships with others helps you establish a support system that can encourage you in difficult times.

The Link Between Laughter and Mental Health

As we’ve already established, laughter is a natural combatant of anxiety and depression, two of the most common mental health issues that people face today. In addition to the chemicals that your brain releases while you’re laughing, there are also some practical aspects to this concept.

When you laugh, your focus shifts from the things that you’re worried about to the things that are making you laugh.

No matter how much you’d like to believe that you can multitask and focus on multiple things at once, it’s simply not true. The human brain is only capable of truly focusing on one thing at a time.

With this in mind, when you turn your attention from a source of stress to a source of laughter and happiness, it helps you recalibrate your thoughts, which naturally reduces the stress and worry that you’re feeling.

Now, this does not mean that you ignore the things in life that are causing you to worry completely. One of the most important parts of mental health is taking a healthy approach to the things that you need to deal with.

However, when you’re feeling overwhelmed by problems, there’s nothing wrong with letting your mind take a break from the hardships of life and focusing on something that makes you laugh. This allows you to sort of “reset” your brain when you’re ready to focus on the problems that need solving again.

Can Laughter Help With Physical Healing?

People who feel good in their bodies typically feel good in their minds. Additionally, people who are struggling with depression and anxiety often experience lots of physical issues, ranging from elevated blood pressure to headaches to gastrointestinal issues.

With this in mind, there is an indelible link between laughter and physical well-being.

If you recall, we talked about how laughter has been shown to aid in the reduction of inflammation, which is directly linked to numerous health problems, including a slowed healing process.

In addition to cutting down on the amount of inflammation in the body, laughter allows the body to focus more on healing than stress. Your body is an incredibly detailed series of connections, each of which plays a role in the next.

Thousands of years before modern medicine was helping humans heal, people relied on the body’s natural healing process to recuperate. That process is still active today, and laughter can help expedite it.

Doctors proved long ago that patients who regularly laugh heal faster from surgery and other major procedures.

Additionally, patients who undergo ongoing treatment for various illnesses are proven to have better results when they maintain a positive, laugh-filled approach. This means that laughter isn’t only good for the mind, but it’s also good for the body, and that makes it even more important for your mental health.

Let Yourself Laugh a Little

While laughter isn’t meant to be a substitute for professional medical help, it can certainly play a pivotal role in your overall health and wellness.

Find some ways to incorporate some more laughter in your life. Whether it means you carve out some time to watch your favorite TV show, or you make a conscious effort to spend some time with friends and family, letting yourself laugh is a great way to improve your mental and physical health.