Relationships November 1, 2016
Whether you’re worried about the upcoming elections or you’re embarrassed about tripping in front of your crush, a good laugh or two could be just what the doctor ordered.
It’s been shown that having a good laugh will not only improve your sense of humor but it will also benefit your physical and mental health. Although having a good laugh seems like the last thing you want to do when you’re having a bad day, it can be your best face lift.
Here are five ways that having a good laugh will benefit you and your spirits.
The physical benefits of laughing, as Mayo Clinic says, “are no joke.” Getting a good laugh has great short-term effects on your body. It stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles by enhancing your intake of oxygen-rich air and it also increases the endorphins released by your brain. You know what Elle Woods says, “Endorphins make you happy”
Additionally, the Cancer Treatment Centers of America uses laughter therapy as a form of treatment. The unique treatment uses humor “to promote overall health and wellness. It aims to use the natural physiological process of laughter to help relieve physical or emotional stresses or discomfort.”
If you’re overwhelmed with school, work or just life in general, laughing can help relieve your stress. When you laugh, your mind signals your stress response. According to Mayo Clinic, “A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response.” Laughing increases your heart rate and blood pressure, which results in a relaxed feeling.
In the long term, laughing can even lessen your depression and anxiety to make you feel happier. When you laugh, it helps you cope with any of your problems and it also helps you connect to different people in your life.
According to a study published in the Gerontological Society of America, a sense of humor helps you stay grounded and more optimistic about the future. The study found that therapeutic humor is life affirming, increases social cohesion and reduces stress.
Laughing or making others laugh is an interactive action. Thus, when you’re relating to different people in such a positive light, it could help you feel better about yourself.
Unsurprisingly to many students, laughter and humor in classrooms can increase communication and learning. One study from the American Psychological Association found that humor in a Johns Hopkins classroom increased student performance. The article states that “classroom comedy can improve student performance by reducing anxiety, boosting participation and increasing students’ motivation to focus on the material.”
Did you know that a good laugh could improve your memory? Laughter’s ability to relieve stress allows for it to relieve aging memory symptoms. According to one study published on the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Humor, with its associated mirthful laughter, can reduce stress and cortisol, a stress hormone. Chronic release of cortisol can damage hippocampus neurons, leading to impairment of learning and memory.”
According to the study, some medical practitioners even offer humor therapies because in the long run, laughing can improve the quality of life for older adults by preserving their learning ability and recall. Keeping your memory as strong as it can can have positive effects on one’s mind, body, spirit and social life.
But regardless of your age, anyone can benefit from a good laugh. So if you’re a fan of telling jokes, watching comedy or just having a good time, then your body, mind and health are in good (hypothetical) hands.
