How Laughter is Medicine for the Mind, Body, and Soul

How often have you been in a glum mood and felt uplifted after watching a funny movie because of laughing at so many scenes? You cannot help but feel better in many ways after laughing. That is because laughter is good for your mind, body, and soul, and many scientific studies have found that laughter is great medicine, especially if you are feeling down. However, even if you are not feeling down, laughter can benefit you in many ways, so you want to collect funny books, movies and shows. Laughter also increases blood flow, reduces pain, and improves emotional health. It also strengthens your spirit. On behalf of Belly Laugh Day on January 24th, let’s discuss why laughter is excellent for you.

Why Do You Laugh?

You may wonder why you can laugh because you may not understand its purpose. By the time they are three months old, babies start laughing well before speaking, and apes also laugh. A few scientific reasons have been discovered for why humans laugh and why it serves a social function by signaling someone else to connect with them. That is why it has been found that you are a lot more likely to laugh in a group than you are solo. Even young children between the ages of two and four are likelier to laugh with others if they see a funny cartoon than if they are unaccompanied.

From an evolutionary standpoint, laughter plays a vital role in survival since it is a social signal for connection. Now you see you are likelier to laugh with a group or friend than solo. However, who is to say that laughing is not possible if you were to watch a funny video, movie, television show, or read a funny book solo? You will still laugh because that is how you respond to something amusing. You will want to do that more often because having a good belly laugh has many benefits.

Laughter Puts You Into a Better Mood

You already know how laughter lifts your spirits if you have been feeling down, and that is why an excellent remedy for that is to turn to comedy. Laughter makes you happier because it increases your happy hormones, which are endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, while it reduces stress hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol.

The months of January and much of February and March can lower your mood because of winter cold and long nights; you will want to have plenty of laugh-worthy material in your reach so you can watch a funny video, a comedy, or read a funny book to help you get through the rest of the winter.

Laughter Makes You More Creative

Another fantastic benefit of laughter is that it can help promote creativity. Studies show that those who watch many comedy shows can better develop creative ideas and solutions for dilemmas than those who do not. The reason is that laughter relaxes the mind and body, allowing you to think freely. As you already know, laughter will increase the blood flow, increase the brain’s oxygen, and help your cognitive thinking.

Therefore, if you plan to go into a creative field such as writing or the arts, start watching more comedies or reading funny books. You will be amazed at how easy it will become to develop new ideas for your creative work. You may not often struggle with facing creative blockages such as writer’s block.

Laughter Is Great For Forming and Maintaining Healthy Relationships

You know that laughter increases your endorphins, which boosts your mood and can help you better communicate when discussing challenging topics with a more optimistic point of view. That is one way that laughter can help you improve your existing connections and help form new ones. Another way laughter helps with your relationships is that it can help improve intimacy, where people can feel close to one another.

Additionally, suppose a conflict is happening, and you can laugh at a situation without it being at anyone’s expense. In that case, the individual you are fighting with will not be able to help but laugh as well, and that right there can help you resolve the issue by finding common ground.

So why not arrange a get-together, watch a comedy, or tell some jokes? You will have a great time and strengthen your connections through laughter.

Laughter Is Good For Your Breathing

According to research, the more you laugh, the stronger your respiratory function will be. Your abdominal muscles contract when you laugh while your diaphragm moves up and down, which means your lungs will take in more air, increasing the amount of oxygen you take in.

You are also breathing deeply when you laugh, and you breathe rapidly, too. Therefore, consuming more oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide is essential for overall health. You need oxygen to function, and the more you take in, the more positive it will be for your overall health.

Laughter Gives You An Internal Workout

You know how essential it is to exercise. Your internal organs also need a workout, and having a good belly laugh often will give your organs that opportunity—your diaphragm contracts when you laugh while your abdominal…