Why Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

Imagine a world without laughter, with nobody smiling or feeling any happiness. Wouldn’t that be so unpleasant and boring? It seems like the world would never be the same without laughter. Even a single day would not be complete without a moment of hearty laughter.

Laughter makes up much of our lives. Almost all of the happy memories that we remember are moments of hearty laughter, and these moments never fail to make us feel so much better. This is why many of us believe that laughter is really the best medicine. Ironically, laughter is so much of an infection. It spreads faster and is more contagious than any cough or sneeze. Indeed, laughter is the only infectious medicine, which is also fun, free, and efficient.

Laughter has many benefits to us. These positive effects may not be so obvious while we laugh but their long term effects to the body are unbelievable. Laughter also needs good humor, which is also a very powerful antidote to stress, bad mood, anxieties and fears. According to research, laughter relaxes the body by relieving physical tension and stress, leaving the muscles of the body relaxed. Laughing will also boost your immune system by increasing the rate of release of the immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to diseases. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel good chemicals, promoting overall sense of well-being and relieving pain. Laughing will also help you develop a healthy 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.

Laughter and good humor can also help you in becoming emotionally healthy in such a way that it makes you feel a lot better. It gives you a positive and optimistic outlook even in most difficult of times. Laughter fights away all the negative emotions in your body. Sadness, anger and anxieties will surely fade away when you laugh or simply smile, and because of this, when you laugh, you can stay alert, focused and energetic.

Laughter strengthens relationships, thus promoting group bonding, closeness, and unity. When you laugh together with your friends, it binds you together with your friends, it binds you together and makes less conflict occur in your circle of friends. Laughter also enhances the teamwork and unity of a group. When laughing together, you suggest to your mates that you are happy with them, as they are with you.

As Steve Wilson, MA, CSP (n.d.) had once said, “I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off. They might be healthier too.” And Robert Provine, author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation (2000), believes that laughter is part of a larger picture. “Laughter is social, so any health benefits might really come from being close with friends and family, and not the laughter itself.” In his own research, Provine has found that we’re thirty times more likely to laugh when we’re with other people than when we’re alone. People who laugh a lot may just have a strong connection to the people around them. That in it might have health benefits. Laughter is indeed a great thing. Aside from making you physically healthy, laughing also boosts your soul. So why wait if you can laugh now? Besides, you won’t be in need for a prescription anymore.

Reference List

Griffin, R. M. (n.d.). Give Your Body a Boost — With Laughter. (M. Michael W. Smith, Editor) Retrieved from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter

Melinda Smith, M. G. (2012, November). Laughter is the Best Medicine. Retrieved from Help Guide:
http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Provine, R. R. (2001). Laughter. Viking.