Welcome back to our exploration into all things emotional. In this edition our Emotional Health columnist LEIGH SMITH explores why having a laugh is serious business, and investigates how laughter really is the best medicine.
WHEN was the last time you had a really good laugh? If you can’t remember, then, that was way too long ago. Did you know that having a good laugh can do wonders for your health, both psychologically and physically, and that humour can help improve not just your mood but your overall physical well-being? Laughing and smiling couldn’t be more natural, within days of being born we learn to smile and within weeks we have learnt to laugh. Even before we learn to talk we have learnt to communicate through the very human connection of joy. This connection is fundamental to our very survival, it draws people towards us and creates bonds which are beneficial to getting our survival needs met. There is nothing quite like the sounds of a child’s laughter to draw a crowd and attract attention. We are hardwired to move towards the sound of laughter, a smile is contagious and a funny story just must be shared. Even animals laugh! The sneezy sound a dog makes is a signal of pleasure and an invitation to play, and the ‘hough hough hough’ sound made by monkeys when at play is said to be the origins of our ‘ha ha ha’. Laughter is a natural way of communicating openness, and expressing that our defences are down and we are available for intimacy. It’s interesting to note that children laugh hundreds of times in a day, whereas adults tend to laugh only on occasion and sometimes very rarely. How often do you laugh? As we get older the opportunities to laugh seem to reduce and are replaced by everyday stresses and anxieties. Pressures from work, family and the ever increasing demands on our time leave us very little energy left to laugh. But it’s time to change the record, replacing the gloom with glee, and the niggles with giggles! It’s time to see the positive effects and the health benefits of putting joy on the agenda. Are you having a laugh? Laughter is indeed a strong medicine, it unleashes a rush of stress-busting endorphins and boosts your bodies natural immune system, helping you to fight infections and combat the negative effects of stress. Laughter can even help reduce pain and increase your tolerance of long term medical conditions. When we laugh and smile it signals the brain to activate the release of endorphins, the hormones that both make us feel happy and that block our pain receptors. These endorphins can also lift us out of low moods and feelings of depression. Think of endorphins as our natural opiates, ready and waiting in our internal pharmacy, natures cure to lift the spirits and create a sense of pleasure. So how do we write ourselves a prescription of joy? It’s no joke! Dr Lee Berk of Loma University Medical Centre, California, has been conducting laughter therapy research since the late 1970s. Berk’s research has shown that the level of natural killer cells (a type of immune cell that attacks virus and tumour cells) is increased through laughter. These same cells are suppressed if the body suffers consistent long-term stress. You Must be joking! It couldn’t be more simple, we just crack a smile, and force a laugh, even if it doesn’t fit the mood, even if it feels false, try it, give it a go, have a good laugh, even if you are feeling low and there really is nothing to laugh about. It still works, the brain will still pick up on the need to activate the release of endorphins. Your body cannot distinguish between real or fake laughter So what have you got to lose? Why do we ‘laugh until we cry’? Laughing and crying are both ways in which we turn emotions into energy and into a form which can be moved out of the body. There’s evidence that the same part of the brain is responsible for both crying and laughing. This is why some times sobbing turns to laughter and tears can follow hysterical giggles. But it’s all good, laughing or crying is a way to avoid suppressing our emotions, which can cause all sorts of emotional problems. It’s time to let it go, find as many ways as you can to have a good laugh, reduce stress, ease pain and save yourself a fortune in therapy bills. And just remember if someone’s judging you as you giggle insanely to yourself, the last laugh is on them!