You’re much more likely to laugh in the presence of others,
if others are laughing, and if you’re familiar with the
comedian
Laughing for 15 minutes burns up to 40 calories
Laughing is beneficial for your short-term memory and stress
levels
By Dr. Mercola
If you want to communicate with someone from across the globe who
speaks a different language, all you have to do is laugh.
Laughter is a form of communication that’s universally recognized,
which suggests it has deep importance to humankind.1
It's thought that laughter may have occurred before humans could
speak as a playful way for mothers and infants to communicate, as a
form of play vocalization, or to strengthen group bonds. Even today
our brains are wired to prime us to smile or laugh when we hear
others laughing.
Yet, laughter is a largely involuntary response; it’s
not generally something you can force yourself to do. Instead,
laughter is thought to be triggered by mechanisms in your brain and
impacts breathing patterns, facial expressions, and even the muscles
in your arms and legs.
It plays a role in your health, too, and has many quirks and
mysteries that make it one of the most fascinating physical
reactions that a human (and certain other species) can make.
10 Fascinating Facts About Laughter
Professor Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist and stand-up comic, put
together these surprising facts about laughter.2
1. Rats Laugh When They’re Tickled
Rats laugh when they’re tickled, and the more they play
together, the more they laugh. Psychologist Jack Panksepp first
observed laughing rats in the 1990s; he needed special equipment
to hear it, as rats’ laughs are very high pitched.
2. You’re More Likely to Laugh Around Others – Not
Because of Jokes
If you're laughing, you're far more likely to be
surrounded by others, according to research by laughter
expert Dr. Robert Provine. The critical laughter trigger for
most people is another person, not a joke or funny movie.
After observing 1,200 people laughing in their natural
environments, Dr. Provine and his team found that laughter
followed jokes only about 10-20 percent of the time. Social
laughter occurs 30 times more frequently than solitary laughter.
In most cases, the laughter followed a banal comment or only
slightly humorous one, which signals that the person is more
important than the material in triggering laughter.
3. Your Brain Can Detect Fake Laughter
Professor Scott’s research has shown that your brain can tell
the difference between real or staged laughter. When you hear
staged, or deliberate, laughter, it prompts more activity in
your brain’s anterior medial prefrontal cortex, which helps you
understand other people’s emotions.
This suggests your brain automatically goes to work
deciphering why someone is deliberately laughing.
4. Laughter Is Contagious
The saying "laugh and the whole world laughs with you" is
more than just an expression: laughter really is contagious. The
sound of laughter triggers regions in the premotor cortical
region of your brain, which is involved in moving your facial
muscles to correspond with sound and prepare to join in.3
5. Jokes Are Funnier if You Know the Comedian
Familiarity is a key part of humor and laughter, and research
shows people find jokes told by famous comedians to be funnier
than the same joke told by someone they’re not familiar with.
6. Laughing Burns Calories
Laughing raises both your energy expenditure and heart rate
by about 10 percent to 20 percent. This means you could burn
about 10-40 calories by laughing for 10 to 15 minutes. While
this sounds good in theory, you’d have to laugh solidly for an
hour or more for this calorie burning to have any meaningful
effect.
7. Laughing Is Good for Your Relationships
Research shows that couples who use laughter and smile when
discussing a touchy subject feel better in the immediacy and
report higher levels of satisfaction in their relationship. They
also tend to stay together longer.
8. Laughter Requires Timing
Laughter has a distinctive pattern. It rarely occurs in the
middle of a sentence. Instead, laughter tends to occur at the
end of sentences or during a break in speech, which suggests
language is given the priority. According to Dr. Provine:4
"The occurrence of speaker laughter at the end of
phrases suggests that a neurologically based process governs
the placement of laughter in speech.
Different brain regions are involved in the
expression of cognitively oriented speech and the more
emotion-laden vocalization of laughter."
Comedians also use the natural tendency for laughter to grow
and fade to their advantage, and will leave spaces at the end of
a sentence for the audience to fill in with laughter.
9. Laughter Is Attractive
Research by Dr. Provine found that women laugh 126 percent
more than men in cross-gender conversations, with men preferring
to be the one prompting the laughter.
In a review of more than 3,700 newspaper personal ads, Dr.
Provine revealed that women were 62 percent more likely to
mention laughter, including seeking a mate with a sense of
humor, while men were more likely to offer humor in their ads.
10. Some Things Can Make Virtually Everyone Laugh
While there’s no one joke that makes everyone laugh,
Professor Scott found that one of the best tools for making
people laugh in her lab is a clip of people trying not
to laugh in a situation where it would be highly inappropriate
to do so.
Laughter Is Good for Your Memory Too
Researchers at California's Loma Linda University looked into the
role that humor can have on your health. They broke 20 older adults
into two groups – one that watched funny videos and one that sat
silently for 20 minutes. Before and after the session, both groups
took a short-term memory test…
The humor group showed significantly more improvement on the
test, 43.6 percent compared to 20 percent in the non-humor group.5
Those in the humor group also had significantly lower levels of the
stress hormone cortisol. According to the researchers, laughter
represents an enjoyable tool to help counteract age-related memory
decline in older adults:
“The study's findings suggest that humor can have
clinical benefits and rehabilitative implications and can be
implemented in programs that support whole-person wellness for
older adults. Learning ability and delayed recall are important
to these individuals for a better quality of life--considering
mind, body, spirit, social, and economic aspects. Older adults
may have age-associated memory deficiencies. However, medical
practitioners now can offer positive, enjoyable, and beneficial
humor therapies to improve these deficiencies.”
Laughter Enhances Immunity, Improves Sleep, and More
What else is laughter good for? Research has shown laughter may
reduce stress hormones and boost your immune function,6
while also inducing optimistic feelings.7
Laughter has demonstrated a wealth of physiological, psychological,
social, spiritual, and quality-of-life benefits, such that
increasing numbers of health care centers are adopting laughter
therapy as a form of complementary care. Opportunities that provide
for group laughter, such as laughter yoga and laugh parties, are
also becoming increasingly popular around the world. Just a short
list of the benefits of laughter therapy are noted below:
Relaxing your muscles
Triggering the release of your body's natural
painkillers (endorphins)
Improving sleep
Enhancing creativity and memory
Easing digestion
Enhancing oxygen intake
Improving well-being and positive emotions
Boosting immune function
Improving blood pressure
Laugh Each and Every Day
Children laugh easily and often, but adults may forget to make
room for laughter in their daily lives. If you can, incorporate
laughter into your daily routine by finding what makes you laugh.
Remember that you’re more likely to laugh in the company of others,
so try to find the humor in life when you’re spending time with
friends, family, and co-workers.
Some experts even recommend everyone get 15 to 20 minutes of
laughter a day, much like you should exercise regularly and eat your
vegetables. If you haven’t had your daily dose of laughter yet,
check out the video below. It’s living proof that laughter is
contagious…
From November 8th - 14th we launch
Vaccine-Awareness Week.
We set aside an entire week dedicated to advocating vaccine safety
and informed consent in the public health system.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity,
the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at
www.NVIC.org:
NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View
descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have
suffered vaccine reactions, injuries, and deaths. If you or your
child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider
posting and sharing your story here.
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post
descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers,
and school and health officials for making independent vaccine
choices.
Together, Let's Help NVIC Get to the Finish Line
This is the week we can get NVIC the funding it deserves. I have
found few NGOs as effective and efficient, as NVIC. Its small team
has led the charge on vaccines and informed consent and will
continue to do so with our help!
So I am stepping up with the challenge. For the fourth year in a
row, I will match the funds you give. This year, I believe a
$100,000 match is the right thing to do. Please give, and all
dollars received up to $100,000 will be matched by Natural Health
Research Foundation, which I founded.
Also check out the documentary
Bought from now until November 21st, that
exposes the inner workings of the food and healthcare systems,
exploring the truth about the manufacture and sales of vaccines and
drugs. All proceeds from sales of the video (minus $1 for the
distributor) will be donated to the NVIC.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.