4 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Laughing

Laughter strengthens social and emotional relationships between people. The benefits of laughing range from improved cohesion between people to a significant improvement in health.

There are many myths about the health benefits of laughing. At the same time, countless studies support this thesis.

Laughter is always a positive thing. However, there is a big difference between this claim and that laughter cures cancer, as some people believe. So we want to invite you to take a look at what science has to say on the subject.

One thing is certain: every pleasant, healthy experience has a positive impact on physical health. Emotional balance helps to create a better physical balance and vice versa. Hence, it would be foolish to deny the positive effects of laughter on wellbeing. However, we shouldn’t overestimate these benefits either.

We’ll share a few of them with you below.

1. Release of endorphins

The release of endorphins is the greatest of all the benefits of laughing. Endorphins are known as happiness hormones because they create a sense of physical and emotional well-being.

University of Kansas psychologists Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman published a study in Psychological Science in 2012. They demonstrated that laughter causes chemical changes in the body and that this creates a feeling of well-being that lasts for up to 24 hours.

Research has also shown that laughter increases the production of dopamine – another substance that helps maintain a good mood. At the same time, it inhibits the production of cortisol, a substance known as “the stress hormone”.

2. Laughter strengthens the cardiovascular system

A study by Professor Michael Miller of the University of Maryland (United States) suggests that another benefit of laughing is that it strengthens the cardiovascular system. Miller experimented with a group of 20 volunteers to prove this.

The volunteers watched a sad movie and then a comedy. After the sad film it became clear that the blood flow decreased in 70% of the participants. However, after watching the comedy, blood flow increased by an average of 20% in all volunteers.

Miller concluded that it is best for the cardiovascular system to exercise for 30 minutes and laugh for 15 minutes a day at least three days a week.

3. The benefits of laughing: It relieves pain

In 1976, Norma Cousins ​​published a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Cousins, who later wrote a book on the subject, claimed to have treated a very painful illness (Bechterew’s disease) that resulted from a “hidden camera” show and videos by the Marx Brothers, as well as vitamin C.

At the same time, University of California (UCLA) psychiatrist Margaret Stuber was conducting experiments on children. She asked them to put their hands in cold water. She found that the children tolerated the experience better and felt less stress when they watched funny videos.

The production of higher amounts of endorphins causes physical pain to decrease. Hence, we can say that endorphins are natural pain relievers. In short, it’s basically proven that one of the benefits of laughing is increased pain tolerance.

4. The benefits of laughter for the immune system

The immune system is particularly sensitive to changes in mood. Studies have also shown that a good mood strengthens the body’s defenses. From this it can be concluded that laughing helps to strengthen the immune system and prevent infections.

There are also not very clear indications of other advantages of laughing. For example, many claim that it helps with weight loss and insomnia, improves the appearance of the skin, strengthens the airways, stimulates the imagination, improves memory, and a thousand other things.

While there is no evidence, it is very plausible that laughter contributes, at least in part, to all of these things.

Humans develop the ability to laugh soon after they are born. Unfortunately, as we grow up, we increasingly lose them. While a child laughs an average of 300 times a day, adults laugh between 15 and 100 times. We may have to become children again from time to time to promote our health!