Why Is Laughter Good for Your Health?

One of the best feelings in the world is the deep-rooted belly laugh.

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

Why is laughter good for your health?

Reasons:

  • Stress Buster: When one smiles, the movement of the facial muscles sends signals to the brain which in turn triggers the release of certain neurotransmitters called endorphins. These chemicals act as natural painkillers, make us feel happy and reduce our stress levels.
  • Laughter boosts the immune system: Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
  • Natural Exercise: Aside from the internal benefits of laughter, it can also be a natural way to exercise various muscle groups in your body. When you engage in laughter, whether it is a giggle or a guffaw, muscles are used to create that movement.The old adage that it “takes more muscles to frown than to smile” is somewhat true, unless you are laughing while smiling. Laughter engages the body’s diaphragm and abdominal muscle systems during that repetitive expanding and contracting that often happens when laughing for an extended period of time.This is why our sides or stomach hurt slightly after long bouts of laughter.
  • Laughter protects the heart: Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
  • Enhances Mood: Studies have shown that the simple act of laughing or smiling can improve the mood and happiness levels in subjects versus other activities. Laughter has been found to have an analgesic quality that reduces even unconscious pain, causing an improvement in mood.
  • Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load: Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment, etc.