Laughter is the best medicine, we are told. And it seems to be true.
Laughing and playing with friends, in any number of different situations, lifts our mood. Particularly hard and persistent laughter even serves as a sort of workout for our abs.
But how does this work?
And how can we leverage it to our benefit?
What the studies say
In multiple medical studies, laughter has, indeed, proven to be pretty good medicine.
Of course, it can’t by itself reduce a fever or fight an infection, and no one has yet laughed a broken bone back to health.
However, laughter and play with friends sets of a host of positive reactions in the body that are all associated with health and healing.
- Laughter releases endorphins. Technically these are “peptides that which activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect.” What that means is, laughter actually reduces pain.
- Laughter reduces inflammation in your blood vessels. While the medical explanation is not fully formed, the effect has been repeatedly demonstrated. This helps your heart function effectively for a longer period of time.
- Laughter helps form stronger relationships. Laughing together means staying together, for friends and lovers. Strong relationships in old age correlate to longer life. Having one or two close relationships has an even more powerful effect on a long life than having a lot of less laughter-filled friendships.
- Laughter fosters memory and brain activity. When we have had the good fortune to create situations that generate lots of laughter, either by having a party with friends, or experiencing new events, or even attending comedy shows or funny movies, our memories are triggered. These moments become hardwired into our memories. Like other extreme emotions, including panic or distress, moments that cause laughter create indelible memories
How can you laugh more?
Of course, now that you know the many benefits of laughing, you should want to create more experiences were laughter is the obvious outcome.
What can you do? Select from this list:
- Gather a group of friends for a celebration
- Go see a funny movie with your favorite comic performers
- Spend an evening at a comedy show
- Create experiences where laughter is the inevitable result
One of the experiences where laughter is bound to occur is attending a pool party. The bigger the pool, the greater the chance for amazement and laughter.
Why not travel down the road a bit to Aqua Adventures at Land of Illusion?