Benefits of Laughter

Benefits of Laughter

Have you ever watched a comedy drama or movie and you laughed until you could hardly to breathe? Or have you ever laughed without any reason? Whatever the causes are, do you know what is the effect after you laugh? I’m sure that you are not aware what actually happens after you laugh.

Today I would like to talk about the benefits of laughter. Laughter is an expression or appearance of merriment or amusement that brings a lot of benefit to human being.

Every one of us had laugh in our life. However, in today’s society, we seem to have forgotten how to laugh. According to research, people used to laugh 18 minutes a day, but today we laugh not more than 6 minutes a day despite in the huge rise in the standard of living. People are working long hours with under pressure to move fast. Divorce and family break-ups are high. So, negative stress level are increasing constantly and lead laughter to decline. This has made bad news as laughter is an essential behaviour of a happy and joyful person whilst lack of laughter contributes to anxiety, depression and illness.

The Benefits of Laughter are:

Reduce the risk of Illness

Michael Miller, professor at University of Maryland Medical Center proposed a study that positive emotions specifically mirthful laughter; would cause favourable effects on the endothelial biology.Two groups of volunteers watched a television comedy and a mental stress movie respectively.35 % reduction in vasodilation showed by volunteers whose watched mental stress movie while 22% increase in vasodilation showed by the volunteers whose watched television comedy.When we laugh, our body will release endorphin which activate opiate receptor which produce nitric oxide that responsible for cardio protective cellular process that promote vasodilation and reduce vascular inflammation.

Improve Communicaton Skill

Laughter can develop our innate sense of humour, help us to find more laughter in our lives and thus change our perception of who we are for better.

Person who can make other people laugh can assume as someone with a good communication skill. We will more confident when we talk in front of others and this will help us in the future.

 If we laugh, it will infect other as well and this will make us feel comfortable with the surrounding and hence increase our communication skill and confident level. When we laugh it will strengthen the bond with the people around us as the result of having a good communication skill.

Laughter is a social signal; it is one of the communications ways. It disappear when there is no audience, which may be as small as one other person and it binds people together

Laughter is use as part of team building and to foster creativity and innovation in teams. Laughter connects people. People, who laugh together, work better together. This reduces sense of conflict since it hard to be in conflict with someone you are laughing with.

Lead to a Creative Thinking

Barbara Fredrickson, PHD, a psychologist of the University of North Carolina, came up with a theory: A positive state of mind-whether caused by humour, love or contentment broadens people’s thinking.

In an experiment, students were asked to watch the penguins and list up to 20 things they’d like to do at the moment. The people who had watched the goofy film thought of more things to do which indicate more flexible and creative thinking.

Laughter help us to think with way amusement stimulates the brain’s reward centre. To prove it, researcher put subject in MRI machine and showed them cartoons. When they get joke, a nucleus acumens a part of neural pathway that scientist call a reward circuit became active. This circuit pumps out dopamine, a brain-signalling chemical that stimulate the frontal lobe- the place where we do most of our mental heavy lifting.

In conclusion, the benefits of laughter are it can reduce the risk of illness, help to improve communication skill and lead to a creative thinking.I hope everyone is aware and clear about the benefits of laughter and not to forget to laugh as it is an important to us. Without laughter, human being will be very dull because without fun and we are exposing to disease as Madeleine Leangle quotes saying a good laugh heal a lot of hurts. Your simple laugh can have a big impact to your life.