Laughter Really is the Best Medicine

We’ve all been there: a moment so stressful, or a situation so absurd, that the only logical response is to either scream or burst into uncontrollable laughter. I remember walking into a high-stakes presentation, my notes clutched in a sweating palm, only to trip over a loose floorboard and perform an involuntary, dramatic slide across the room. My initial instinct was pure mortification, but when I looked up and saw my stern boss stifling a grin, the tension in the room instantly evaporated. That shared moment of absurdity reminded me that laughter isn’t just a reaction to a joke—it’s a powerful, physiological reset button that connects us, heals us, and reminds us that no matter how heavy the load, we can always find the lightness underneath. So let’s dig into the benefits.

Short-term benefits

A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it also affects you physically. How?

• Laughter stimulates organs. It enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases endorphin release.
• Laughter activates and relieves your stress response. A good laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. This results in feeling relaxed.
• Laughter soothes tension. It can stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress. A good laugh can relax the muscles for up to 45 minutes.
• Laughing is a good distraction. When you laugh, you aren’t thinking about that assignment that is overdue or the big final you have coming up next week. Laughter gives your brain a break from worrying thoughts that can cause stress.

Long-term effects

Laughter isn’t just a quick pick-me-up, it also provides long term benefits. Laughter can:

• Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially prevent more serious illnesses.
• Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
• Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.
• Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your stress, depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier. It can also improve your self-esteem.
• Improve cardiac health. Laughing increases your heart rate and the amount of oxygen in your blood. This can improve vascular function and decrease the risk of a heart attack.
• Weight loss: A common side effect of chronic stress is weight gain. Laughing not only reduces the stress hormones that cause weight gain, but it also burns calories.

How can you inject a shot of humor into your life?

• Give humor easy access. Find some simple items, such as photos, greeting cards or comic strips, that make you laugh. Hang them up at home or in your office, or collect them in a file or notebook. Keep funny movies, TV shows, books, magazines or comedy videos on hand for when you need an added humor boost. Go online and look at joke websites or silly videos. Listen to humorous podcasts.
• Laugh and the world laughs with you. Find a way to laugh about your own situation. Even if it feels forced at first, practice laughing. It does your body good.
  Heard of laughter yoga? In laughter yoga, people practice laughter as a group. Laughter is forced at first, but it can soon turn into spontaneous laughter.
• Share a laugh. Nothing beats a shared laugh. Make it a habit to spend time with friends who make you laugh. Share funny stories or jokes with those around you. Invite some friends over for a game night and play party-style games like Charades.

• Knock, knock. Browse through your local bookstore or library’s selection of joke books and add a few jokes to your list that you can share with friends.
• Spend time with animals. Pets are a source of laughter and joy for many people. If you don’t have a pet, consider asking a friend to pet-sit for them or volunteer at an animal shelter in your free time.
• Alter your environment. Your environment can play a huge part in your mood. Adjust your work or study area to include things that make you smile, like a picture with friends from a funny night out, or a photo of your dog in a funny costume.

If all else fails, smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter, and it’s equally contagious. So practice smiling, which is easier to do when you’re not looking down at your phone. Instead smile at people you pass in the street, the person serving you a coffee, or the co-workers you pass in the office. It’s the first step in the right direction. 

Sources: https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/wellbeing/laughter-is-the-best-medicine

https://www.usa.edu/blog/how-laughter-can-relieve-stress/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456