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7 Unknown benefits of laughter


7 Unknown benefits of laughter


You don't stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop laughing.-Maurice Chevalier
We all know how to laugh. Laughter is not just a fun way to kill time. It has endless health benefits. We all have heard laughter is the best medicine and many other adages relevant to laughter. When you laugh you are not only enjoying the moment but also exercising your brain. Just like your body your brain also needs to work out to keep it fit. And, yeah, a healthy mind translates into a healthy body. 
But how often do you enjoy a good, hearty laugh? 
When was the last time you had a good laugh? 
Learn about the benefits of laughter and how to laugh even when things go wrong in this article.
Laughter activates various regions of the brain. This is peculiar because most of the emotional responses are confined to specific areas of the brain whereas laughter seems to be produced through a circuit that runs through many regions of the brain. 
In Derks experiment, researchers found out that within four-tenths of a second of exposure to something funny, an electrical wave is moved through the cerebral cortex and if the wave took a negative charge, you laugh. If it maintained a positive charge, well, you get it.
The social-affective appreciation of verbal jokes is associated with activity in orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and Parahippocampal gyrus.
The limbic system’s hippocampus and amygdala are said to be responsible for laughter.
Fun facts: 1. The limbic system is also responsible for the formation of memory. Hmmm….sounds like there is a connection between laughter and memory.
              2. Study of laughter is called gelotology…..so gelly, isn’t it?
Laughing releases endorphins(feel-good hormones)which relieves pain and increases resistance to pain. It can also relieve stress and causes euphoria.
Whew!
Nothing would make you instantaneously happy than reading a couple of ludicrous memes.
You don’t call laughter the best medicine without a reason. The benefits of laughing are endless. From psychological to physical benefits, from improving individuals to improving relationships, a good hard laugh does it all. Although the healing effects of laughter are still a matter of study, some clinically proven benefits are listed below.
1. Enhances immunity
Laughing boosts your immunity by increasing the number of APCs(antibody-producing cells) and T cells in the body.
You may have heard a lot of ways to lower your blood pressure, from walking to cutting back on caffeine….but do you know laughter can also lower your blood pressure? Having a good laugh can reduce your systolic blood pressure by 10 points in 20 minutes. Shocking right? So why don’t you watch a few more gags rather than whining soap operas?
A study shows that laughing together with your partner can strengthen your relationship with him/her and brings you closer to him/her.
It not only strengthens your intimate relationship but also enhances bonding with people you meet in your daily life. So why not crack jokes to your neighbour on your daily commute? It also strengthens the patient-doctor relationship and instils a sense of hope and comfort in the patient.
Laughter can be used therapeutically in rehabilitation and across a wide variety of medical fields such as geriatrics, general patient care, psychiatry, palliative care, home care, terminal care, rheumatology and oncology.
The wreckage caused to one’s life by cancer can be daunting. One would forget the meaning of joy under these circumstances. But a study which investigated the effect of laughter therapy on cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy proves that it is effective in decreasing depression, anxiety and stress in cancer patients. So enjoy a good laugh even under wrackful times.
Watching humorous movies decreased psychopathology, anger, depression and anxiety in chronic schizophrenic patients. It also improved social competence in them.
Laughter has shown remarkable effects in improving the quality of your sleep. The most common reason for deprivation of sleep is stress. Laughing helps you cope with stress and also increases melatonin (regulates sleep cycle) levels.
so now as you know the benefits, why don’t you laugh a little extra?
I know it’s not easy to giggle when things are not stacked up in your favour. But don’t worry; I’ve got your back. 
Following are some tips to tickle your funny bone even when things are not right. I’m not telling you to laugh when you have lost your loved one or when you are giving your moral support to someone who has been through a trauma. It would be considered very sick of you to laugh looking at funny bits on YouTube when you are near someone who has lost all his hope in life. But you can try to laugh in situations that actually don’t need much of your attention, but you are giving it way too much than necessary only because it’s free. 
You wouldn’t give away your energy and attention to something very nugatory such as missing the last train to the office or getting blocked by a person who’s not worth it, if you have to pay a dollar for every second of attention and energy you squander, Would you?
Make it a habit to watch memes or gags or any other source of humour for at least 15 minutes a day. Always do this in a particular time of the day, like, after you finish another habit so that you don’t forget. For instance, watch funny videos after you brew your evening coffee. Doing it this way will help you to remember that you have to laugh after you make your hot cup. I know it is not that easy to follow even a light-hearted habit on a very rough day. But making this a habit will automatically signal your brain to look for ways to flee from a foundering ship.

This is not directly related to laughing, but, sometimes you won’t get the joke until your mind calms down. At times like these, you will have to calm your mind first. I don’t know whether this will work for everyone, but for me, aesthetics are ready to go stress busters. It could be anything, a mind-calming floral background or a mesmerizing landscape or even a mason jar lying on the beach. Trust me, impeccable pictures can do the magic. 
So why don’t you give it a try?

Our mood will always be affected by the people around us. So surround yourself with beaming people all the time. And when things are bad it is best for you to be with spirited people so that you don’t die in your downward spiral. It is not that people who giggle a lot are void of problems; it’s just that they radiate more positivity even when there’s no light. It is better to be with people who illuminate the darkness rather with those who dim the darkness even more.
I’m emphasizing on this one again because, even if you haven't made watching something funny a habit, you could still use some comedy bits to lighten your mood. So rather than watching Nordic noirs and Whodunits why don’t you switch to screwball comedy? Oh common, I know you don’t wanna watch something sober when your life is already so gloomy.
Look at yourself in the mirror and…..laugh. This might sound puerile and complicated to do when you have a lot of things running in your mind. So, let’s break this into two simple steps.
Step 1: Look at yourself in the mirror and think about everything you have achieved so far. I’m pretty sure you have more tour de forces than forfeits. So why get your mind wrapped up in something unpleasant? You have to strongly believe that this moment will pass.
Step 2: As now you know for sure this inharmonious moment will pass, why don’t you laugh at yourself?
Not everyone looks like Mr Bean in the mirror, but still, you know how to laugh, so laugh.
So, folks, these are my 5 ideas to tickle your funny bone even when you don’t feel like it. I hope it helps.
Wherever you are in life, you have all the rights to laugh. So always enjoy a hearty laugh!!!


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