{"id":53552,"date":"2016-05-06T13:24:24","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T17:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=53552"},"modified":"2016-08-23T12:56:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T16:56:00","slug":"the-science-of-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/ro\/journal\/the-science-of-laughter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Science of Laughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I stood among strangers, something erupted. It traveled from one person to the next, and then it reached me. Before I knew it, I was overcome with it too.<\/p>\n

Laughter.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s universal, it\u2019s unifying, it breaks the ice, and it\u2019s good for your health. But how? What\u2019s really happening inside our bodies when we chuckle, giggle, tee-hee, snicker, or guffaw?<\/p>\n

Laughter is shared throughout humanity. To laugh with someone is to know someone, to forget worries and pain, if only momentarily. We know that feeling of lightness, of relief when we laugh at an awkward or tough situation and realize, it\u2019s actually kind of funny\u2014and things aren\u2019t that<\/i> bad. There\u2019s a reason comedians visit military bases and hospitals: Laughing makes us feel better.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just in our imagination. The science is in: This blissful power of laughter is a natural part of us, outside and in.<\/p>\n

The Laughter Within<\/h3>\n

When we laugh, we involve the whole body. Our face, our brain, our lungs, our blood vessels\u2014even our chakras get in on the action. Our vocal chords vibrate with a ho-ho-ho, a ha-ha-ha, or a he-he-he. As we experience a heartier laugh, we exhale longer<\/a>, removing \u201cstale air\u201d from our lungs. It\u2019s like spring cleaning for your insides. The inhale that follows then fills the lungs with fresh air and more oxygen while our chest and facial muscles contract with glee.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaughter results in greater than average expulsion of the residual air in our lungs and then adds a fresh supply of oxygen that enriches our blood to nourish our heart, brain, and body tissues,\u201d says Michael Miller, MD<\/a>,\u00a0a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center.<\/p>\n

The giggles are also good for your heart. In a 2005 study<\/a> on laughter in response to humor, Dr. Miller and his fellow researchers found that laughter can help dilate blood vessels and improve their function by reducing their stiffness and increasing their flexibility. Why do we want flexible arteries? Increased stiffness can lead to hardened arteries, which ups the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. \u201cLaughter practiced as part of a healthy lifestyle may help to slow aging of our blood vessels,\u201d says Dr. Miller, author of the book Heal Your Heart<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n

On top of aiding our cardiovascular system, laughter can also give our immune system a boost. \u201cLaughter is associated with an increased production of cells (predominantly B and T cells) that help to ward off infection,\u201d says Dr. Miller<\/a>. So if you had older siblings who used to tickle you to the point where you were roaring with laughter and had to scream for them to stop, you may actually owe them a thank you. And if you ever laughed so hard you almost couldn\u2019t stand, that\u2019s science too: In addition to the obvious muscles seizing up, the other ones may become more relaxed or less coordinated<\/a> (so there\u2019s some truth to being \u201cweak with laughter\u201d).<\/p>\n

The Healing Properties of Laughter<\/h3>\n

It should come as no surprise that laughter is good for our minds, too. Have you ever noticed you feel less stressed when you laugh? Not only does it distract us from worry, laughter also helps restrain stress hormones.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaughter causes regions of the brain that regulate emotions to \u2018light up,\u2019\u2009\u201d says Dr. Miller. \u201cThese regions suppress the release of the stress hormone cortisol and activate the brain\u2019s memory center, the hippocampus.\u201d This explains why so many of your most memorable moments involve laughter.<\/p>\n

In addition to alleviating stress and giving our memory a boost, laughter can lead to bliss. Research suggests that hearty, genuine laughter releases endorphins<\/a>, the brain\u2019s \u201cfeel-good\u201d chemicals that help diminish pain while triggering positive feelings. That\u2019s why laughter feels so good\u2014euphoric, even.<\/p>\n

\u201cEndorphins help relieve pain when you laugh,\u201d says Jodi J. De Luca, PhD<\/a>, a licensed clinical psychologist at Boulder Community Hospital. Laughter helps resolve \u201call types of pain, not just physical pain, but emotional and psychological pain as well\u2014which can sometimes be more damaging and devastating because we can\u2019t see them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Illustration by Yumi Sakugawa<\/div><\/div>\n

In the face of unspeakable sorrow or heartbreak, we often find ourselves laughing because we are incapable of any other physical response. We laugh to reframe the hurt, to help us cope and adjust our perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe final stage of transformation and change is the ability to laugh at and gain an outside perspective, a more expanded perspective, on whatever it is you are going through,\u201d says Tracee Dunblazier<\/a>, a certified grief counselor, spiritual empath, shaman, author, and speaker. \u201cYou don\u2019t ever unknow a trauma, but you change your relationship so dramatically to it that you become a different person in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what if you don\u2019t feel like it? What if it wasn\u2019t just getting stood up on a date, or having a bad day? What if we received news that hit us hard, that took away our joy?<\/p>\n

What if we got diagnosed with cancer?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Katherine Puckett, PhD<\/a>, chief of the Division of Mind-Body Medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA)<\/a> comes in: leading laughter therapy. \u201cAs you know cancer is not a laughing matter,\u201d she says. \u201cBut laughter does allow patients\u2014anybody, really\u2014to find relief from the stress and the pain and the discomfort of cancer and cancer treatment. It allows people to remember they can still enjoy life. That\u2019s one of the most important things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Puckett first introduced laughter therapy to the other mind\u2013body offerings of counseling and stress management at CTCA in 2004. \u201cWe started it in response to a request from a patient who said \u2018you need some more fun around here.\u2019\u2009\u201d Since then she has received many positive responses from participants and their families. She says that patients who have experienced laughter therapy say that it provides them with a time and space where they don\u2019t think about their diagnosis, and often revel in just \u201chow long it\u2019s been since they laughed.\u201d It reconnects them to joy.<\/p>\n

That joy is similar to the feeling we find on our yoga mats. \u201cThere\u2019s a deep well of joy within us, and laughter yoga<\/a> opens up your well of joy,\u201d says Beth Bongar (aka Laughing Diva)<\/a>, a laughter yoga teacher of 10 years. \u201cRemember, it\u2019s not about \u2018real\u2019 or \u2018spontaneous\u2019 laughter necessarily\u2014although this is likely to happen if you practice laughter yoga, especially when the going gets rough,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Laughter yoga incorporates yogic breathing\u2014pranayama\u2014to get the body to an aerobic state in order to laugh, whether you feel like it or not. According to Bongar: \u201cIf you\u2019re not in the mood, which is not a requirement, think of laughter yoga as physical, mental, and\/or spiritual exercises that have benefits backed by science.\u201d Though it\u2019s different than a typical yoga class, some common poses are used, as well as some, perhaps unexpected, mantras<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cHa-ha ho-ho, ho-ho ha-ha is a mantra,\u201d says Bongar.<\/p>\n

Laughter Aligns With Our Chakras<\/h3>\n

The powerful energy of different types of laughter connects with our chakras. Tracee Dunblazier<\/a>, a certified grief counselor and author, shares her work from\u00a0Master Your Inner World: Embrace Your Power With Joy<\/em><\/a>. \u201cEnergetically, the heart opens or expands when we laugh and allows for all of the other energy centers (chakras<\/a>) to release denser energies and align with the higher frequencies that enter the body.\u201d There are three different kinds of laughs that interact with their corresponding chakras:<\/p>\n