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Stress relief from laughter? Yes, no joke
When it comes to relieving stress, more giggles and guffaws are just what the doctor ordered. Here's why.
By Mayo Clinic staffWhether you're overcome with giggles during the most hysterical moments of a Monty Python movie or you twitter away at the highbrow humor of a New Yorker cartoon, laughing does you good. Laughter helps you deal with a variety of maladies, including the stresses of daily life.
Stress-relief benefits from a belly laugh
Laughter's health benefits are no joke. A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data are mounting about the positive things laughter can do.
Short-term benefits
A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:
- Stimulate your organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
- Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
- Soothe tension and stomachaches. Laughter can also ease digestion and stimulate circulation, which helps reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
Long-term effects
Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long haul. Laughter may:
- Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can impact your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
- Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
- Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make difficult situations a little bit easier.
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