Laughter is the best medicine

"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like the most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person." - Audrey Hepburn

Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? Or so hard that you couldn’t breathe? Or so hard that you almost peed your pants?

It’s pretty rare as adults to laugh out loud anymore. The closest we get is when we text “LOL” when we really just mean-- ‘I don’t know how to finish this text, so I’m just going to put LOL’. I’m pretty lucky that my boyfriend is serious < 5% of his day (which believe me gets a little annoying from time to time), but it means we are laughing a ton. The other day he asked me what I like most about him (sorry Andre, I’m calling you out). I thought about it for probably .25 seconds and responded with “YOU ARE HILAROUS”. And it’s true, his ability to make me and everyone around him laugh is the best thing about him.  

We are attracted to people who make us smile and laugh, and this is because it is actually really good for our health. In fact, there is an actual word for the study of laughter and its psychological/physiology effects on the body – Gelotology.

For a long time researchers didn’t understand the effects of laughter and brain. Some theorist believe that laughter began in the hunter/gatherer times after a near encounter with death/danger—Laughter would decrease stress by decreasing the fight or flight reflex (Note: if you want to learn more about the fight/flight reflex, please read my previous post “Literally Losing my Mind, here: http://projectpdxhale.blogspot.com/2015/08/literally-losing-my-mind.html ) Laughter may also indicate trust in ones companions, which if you are hunting some animal that is 3 times bigger, stronger, and faster than you, you probably want to trust the guy next to you. Aristotle believed that laughter was unique trait to humans (which we now know to be incorrect-- apes, dogs and rats are able to laugh when tickled and playing).  Darwin believed we laugh in order to make/strengthen bonds with others—this reminds me of preparing for a speech, presentation, performance, etc. You always want to start with some sort of joke, get everyone to relax, and build trust. I’m sure most of you have figured that out already. It works! Try it if you haven’t yet.

Here is what researchers do know:

Laughing can increase your level of natural killer cell activity – cells that help to fight off disease. But there is a catch, you must laugh out loud, those that silently watched the comedy did not have these higher immunity cells.

Laughter releases endorphins (remember Elle Woods?), which are pleasure-inducing neurotransmitters. These endorphins do the heart good by ultimately vasodilating blood vessels à increasing blood flow à reducing inflammation and à decreasing cholesterol plaque formation.

Laugher has been found to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone).

Laughing activates at least five different parts of the brain-- It's a "mental explosion". 

For individuals with "gelastic epilepsy" characterized by laughing seizures often at inappropriate times, have damage to areas of the brain that are in charge of emotion-- the hypothalamus, frontal lobe, or temporal lobe.

What I found most interesting -- We are 30 times more likely to laugh if we are with someone else. It is behaviorally contagious. You can catch laughter when others are laughing, especially if you know and trust them. So it is laughter itself, or the social context itself that is important for our health? Researchers now believe that laughter is a social, almost animalistic vocalization that binds people together.

The medical field understands the importance of laughter, and has implemented different types of treatments related to laughter for individuals with chronic pain and stress. Some physicians are prescribing alternative and combination treatments with laughter therapy (I watched a video about it, it's a room full of people literally just laughing hysterically for 2 minutes), laughter yoga, and laughter dancing.

I'm going to leave you with this story about Veterans and the power of laughter:

Social media isn’t always all that bad. I actually came across a guy that I went to college with, Danny Maher (aka Donny O’Malley) that somehow I had forgotten about. We weren’t really friends in college, but we hung around the same crowd. He was always crazy and hilarious- life of the party kind of guy. I lost track of him after college and it wasn’t until I came across his Facebook recently that I caught up on the last 5 years of his life. After he graduated, he ended up joining the Marines and served in Afghanistan. Once he returned from overseas and medically retired from the Marines, he felt different. (Speaking as a civilian, I could definitely understand why our soldiers would feel different, and my instinctual thought is that they are overall happy to be back and safe). However, the reality is that a lot of our guys and girls come back 'safely', but with mixed emotions. Danny describes his emotions as loneliness and losing some sense of purpose after being discharged from the infantry-- he missed the camaraderie, brotherhood, and intensity.  Sadly, he was also noticing a trend. Many of his fellow military veterans were silently struggling too, killing themselves at an alarming rate.

Did you know that each day, twenty-two US veterans commit suicide? 

I don’t know about you, but that is a staggering number. The VA also estimates that 11% of veterans from the Afghanistan war are affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but I’m guessing that number in actuality is probably a lot higher. So, Danny did what he knows how to do best, make people laugh- full on, pee your pants, inappropriate, dark humor, love your brother kind of comedy. He wrote a comical satire directed towards his veteran counterparts and started a foundation called Irreverent Warriors to not only raise awareness for PTSD and veteran suicide, but to get military guys and girls back together, like how it was when they were together in the military- count on each other, open up, and have fun. They even put on hiking events where they hike 22 km with 22 kg on their backs, only wearing their silkie shorts (it’s a sight to see!). When you get together with others, you laugh.

Please visit the Irreverent Warriors website to learn more about their great program, and share with a military friend who may or may not be struggling: http://media.thelovestory.org/irreverent-warriors/