For a psychiatrist, who spends most of his time with people who are sad, unhappy and unable to laugh, “Laughter is the best medicine” is perhaps one of the worst cliches. But as far as all cliches go, there is some grain of truth in it and scientific research also supports this old adage.
A hearty laugh does set off signals in the brain that releases endorphins, the happy hormones. That release triggers a cascade of heart-healthy chemical changes in the body. There is proof that a good laugh antagonises the effect of stress on our heart and boosts our immune systems. Laughter robs the stress of its teeth.
LAUGHTER, A POSITIVE EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE
There are many other benefits of a good laugh and having a good sense of humour. And it is not restricted to health benefits. It has many social benefits too. It goes a long way in building resilience and rallying people around us. Funny people have more people around them in tough times. It is easier to be around people who laugh more and have a good sense of humour. Laughter is a positive emotional experience. It binds you with people.
Relationships like friendships are sustained on the basis of what people think about us when they are not with us. In the long run, it is easier to remember how the other person made us feel rather than what they said. We may not remember what our physics teacher taught us in Class X regarding gravitational forces but we would remember how we cracked up at his jokes. Hence, those with the ability to laugh and make others laugh can draw people towards them. It creates positive memories.
PEACOCK PLUMES
Humour also helps people to cope with adversity better. Research shows that humour helps people to grieve. People who spontaneously experienced amusement and laughter when discussing a deceased spouse showed better emotional adjustment in the years following the spouse’s death.
All of us try to be happy, feel light and avoid pain. The pursuit of humour influences many of our daily decisions — the websites we surf, books and magazines we read, the television shows and movies we watch, and the people we decide to talk to (or not). Hence we are consumers of humour, and advertising folks know this well. Businesses are constantly trying to create funny ads because we would easily remember it and not try to repress it because it made us feel unhappy.
Most studies find humour to be a highly desirable attribute with many other social benefits.This explains why the acronym GSOH (good sense of humour) finds its way into personal and online dating posts. The chances of being more successful in the dating game is perhaps easier if you know your Marx Brothers better than your Sylvia Plath. In other words, good jokes are a guy’s version of colourful peacock plumes.
HA-HA CLUBS
But does self-initiated laughter, as practised by laughter clubs, help? Laughter clubs reap the physiological and psychological benefits of spontaneous, voluntary laughter. The basic premise is that self-initiated, simulated laughter done in a group quickly turns into genuine and contagious laughter. The benefits of laughter are believed to be rooted in our nervous system. By putting the cart before the horse with self-initiated laughter, you tap into an innate feedback loop. Any type of laughter stimulates diaphragmatic breathing and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Just 10 minutes of laughter is sufficient to trigger mental and physical health benefits.
But why do humans laugh? That question increasingly interests scientists around the globe. People of all ages and cultures laugh spontaneously, and they spend quite a bit of time doing it. Laughter is a feature that we share with other great apes such as the chimpanzee and gorilla, which suggests that it is an ancient behaviour.
So, this leads us to suggest that we are dealing here with a biological adaptation, a trait that gave humans some sort of evolutionary benefit. What could that be? There are different hypotheses. One is that laughter signals social interest, especially in a romantic context. Not surprisingly, all of us find that a sense of humour is one of the most desired traits in a partner.
Interestingly, there is a sex difference here. While women like men who make them laugh, men prefer to interact with women who laugh about the jokes they tell them. It is this deeper sexual motive that might drive men, and perhaps the not-so-appealing-looking ones, to become stand-up comedians. (My apologies to all stand-up comedians who did not laugh at my joke!)
All of us need to cling on to laughter and happiness even if we are in situations where it is scarce. However, is laughter the best medicine for diseases? No, medicine still remains the best medicine... but Mir or Kapil Sharma can definitely help in staying healthy and happy.
Dr Jai Ranjan Ram is a senior
consultant psychiatrist and
co-founder of Mental Health
Foundation (www.mhfkolkata.com).
Find him on Facebook @Jai R Ram
