The Importance Of Laughter In Your Health And Life

Taking a little sun each day, eating in a balanced way, and generally maintaining a healthy lifestyle can do a lot for our well-being, including our psycho-emotional health. In addition to all this, there is something that also influences significantly: laughter.

Laughing is good for us in many ways. It helps us to exercise the muscles of the face, release tension, downplay what causes us discomfort, see the world from a different perspective, recharge, connect with ourselves and with others, and much more.

Laughter and hormonal activity

We live in a time when the pace of life is fast-paced and often stressful. Therefore, it is normal to feel overwhelmed and “disconnected” from our essence. In those situations in which “we can’t take it anymore” there is a very simple ally, but with a powerful effect: laughter. Yes, like certain Buddhist techniques, laughter is also capable of helping us. 

Just as meditation, mindfulness and mindfulness can bring benefits to physical and psychological health, laughter has also been shown to make a significant contribution, since it influences hormonal activity.

Domingo and Sánchez, comment in an article about the role of serotonin and the two brains the next: “a recent review has shown that mindfulness or mindfulness seems to contribute to improving immune functions, reducing inflammation, decreasing the reactivity of the autonomic nervous system, and increasing telomerase activity -associated with longevity-, plasma melatonin levels and serotonin . Specifically, the practice of mindfulness it has been shown to be beneficial for numerous conditions with altered serotonin levels, such as anxiety and depression, insomnia or eating disorders ”.

Everything that happens in the body is the result of a complex, wonderful and perfect psychological, physiological and neurological process. Nothing is left without an explanation. Just as crying and sadness weaken us, lower our spirits and make us think that things don’t make sense, laughter does the opposite. It even manages a direct impact on the immune system.

Laughter has been shown to help reduce levels of cortisol, epinephrine, the growth hormone, thus mitigating stress. In addition, it influences the hormonal activity of serotonin and dopamine .

Laughter is a biological process that helps us release endorphins and, in addition to helping us feel better and improve the image we can have of ourselves, it allows us to improve our interpersonal relationships.

Experts claim that laughter is a non-invasive therapy that can contribute significantly to the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress. Therefore, it is valid as an adjunctive measure. 

Note – Just because laughing has a number of health benefits doesn’t mean we should force ourselves to do it all the time anyway. Keep in mind that we do not always have the opportunity to do it spontaneously on a day-to-day basis and it is not necessary to force situations to laugh. However, that also does not mean that we should completely forget about laughter and that we should not “seek” it through what we find funny from time to time.

Why should we laugh?

Believe it or not, laughing or showing a big smile, or the simple act of laughing allows us to mitigate emotional tension and, in turn, feel relief. On the other hand, laughter allows us to show those around us that we feel happy, happy or simply grateful.

The important thing is, and always will be, to laugh and smile every time we have the opportunity to genuinely do it and enjoy it. Laughter allows you to experience relief and joy.  It also helps us to feel lighter and to spread that positive feeling to others to those around us.

In addition, we must bear in mind that laughter is a good way to maintain a positive environment around us and thereby promote that things “flow” better both for other people and for ourselves. As we already mentioned, it is not necessary to force situations, but it is advisable to take advantage of the moments in which laughter has a place.

Laugh, smile, whenever you get the chance. The body will thank you.