Laughter is the best medicine
Laughter is an aspect of human behavior that is controlled by the brain and assists humans in clarifying their social interaction motives. It also offers an emotional setting to conversations. It is used as an indicator of belonging to a group by showing acceptance as well as positive relationships with other people. Laughter is at times viewed as contagious whereby an individual’s laughter tends to stimulate other individuals as a sign of a positive reaction. Laughter, which is among the commonest expressional behavior of humorous experience, entails a characteristic respiratory-vocal pattern of behavior with characteristic psycho-physiological correlation (Ruch & Ekman, 2001). Cognitively, laughter regards the incongruity perception in a playful setting. Socially, laughter plays a crucial part in person-to-person attraction and communication, and humor may be an essential part of social competence (Rod, 2001).
Laughter and happiness are positive indicators of psychological well-being and contribute, in a positive manner, towards people’s good health, long life as well as success. The idea that laughter and happiness lead to positive benefits in health has turned to be of interest recently, among medical practitioners and the public. Various articles that link good health, success and longevity to laughter and happiness have appeared in the media. This paper intends to explore the effects of laughter and happiness on health, longevity and success. It also seeks to examine how laughter is a good medicine.
Laughter is a powerful remedy to pain, stress, as well as conflict. A good laugh acts faster and more reliably to maintain the mind and body to balance than any other means. Laughter lightens burdens, links a person to other people, inspires hopes, and keeps a person focused, grounded, and attentive. Having the power to heal as well as renew, the ability to laugh frequently and easily is an enormous source of overcoming problems, enhancing relationships and giving support to emotional and physical wellness. There are several benefits of laughter and happiness on health. For instance, laughter helps the body to relax by relieving stress and physical tension making the muscles remain relaxed for about 45 minutes after a hearty laugh. Laughter enhances the immunity by reducing stress hormones and raising antibodies and the immunity cells and, therefore, ameliorating disease resistance. Laughter activates endorphins production, which are chemicals that make a body to feel good naturally. These chemicals promote a general well-being sense and may temporarily ease pain. Laughter also helps in protecting the heart through improvement of blood vessels and increasing flow of blood that aid in protecting a person against heart attack as well other cardiovascular disorders (Melinda, Gina, & Jeanne, 2012). Laughter and happiness make an individual have a good feeling. This good feeling experienced when a person laughs remains even after laughter is gone. Laughter and happiness aid in keeping a positive, hopeful outlook in the course of hard situations, dissatisfactions, as well as loss. Besides being a respite from pain and sadness, laughter and happiness give a person the strength and courage to discover new sources of hope and meaning. Even during the difficult moments, a laughter and happiness make a person to feel better. There is a strong link between laughter and happiness, and mental health. For example, laughter fades away emotions that are distressing since one does not feel angry, sad, or anxious when laughing (Melinda, Gina, & Jeanne, 2012).
Laughter and happiness aid in relaxing and recharging a person by decreasing stress as well as raising energy, allowing a person to accomplish more and be focused. Laughter and happiness shift view, permitting a person to view situations in a better meaning, more realistic light. A hilarious perspective makes emotional distance that can aid in avoiding feeling overwhelmed. If a person is happy or laughs while performing a duty, there is a feeling that they have the ability to handle or achieve the situation. This is how the brain is unconsciously informed of its capability and that the situation is achievable. Through response to challenges with happiness and laughter, a person puts himself in an empowered position to undertake any issues they are facing. This offers a general success to the person (Melinda, Gina, & Jeanne, 2012). While distressed or angry, a person’s judgment lacks objectivity and accuracy. The person perceives issues as being bad than the way they are in the real sense. Laughter and happiness return situations to perspective and help in improving a person’s creativity. They as well enable people to confront challenges with a broader perspective when they have a good humor sense. This causes more originative way of solving a problem that in turn leads to improvement of job performance, particularly if the work relies on creativity as well as complex problems solving.
The present meta-analysis proposes that positive emotional well-being has a positive outcome on survival in disease as well as healthy populations. If there is a genuine association between positive emotional welfare and death and not a false effect of bias of publication, it could be liaised partially through pathways of behavior. For instance, higher-state positive influences as well as positive inclinations are linked to forecasters of prolonged endurance, like not smoking, regular exercise, decreased consumption of alcohol, and better quality of sleep (Fosse, Stickgold, & Hobson, 2002). Positive psychological welfare may as well be linked to raise medical regimens devotion in disease populations since contrary connections between depression and adherence have been depicted (DiMatteo, Lepper, & Croghan, 2000). With a positive psychological well-being, an individual is capable of having different disease susceptibility through the fading of activities involved with the sympathetic nervous system as well as enhancing the parasympathetic activation. The parasympathetic activity increases the variability of the heart rate and decreases blood pressure. The positive psychological well-being can also help in the reduction of inflammatory as well as coagulation factors that are induced by stress. These factors include interleukin-6 and fibrinogen that are involved in cardiovascular conditions, and lower infectious illness vulnerability. These measures enhance good health in an individual as well as increase their survival rates in either health or sickness. There is also a link showing the association between positive psychological welfare and reduction in cardiovascular mortality among the healthy populations. In addition, positive psychological welfare has a significant outcome in patients diagnosed with cardiovascular illness, giving them longer life (DiMatteo, Lepper, & Croghan, 2000).
Positive psychological welfare, which is largely contributed by laughter and happiness, has a positive outcome on endurance in disease and healthy populations. It is possible that educational programs and public health aimed at raising resilience to stress of life as well as promoting positive welfare are of great benefits. Attention to the improvement of positive states and the removal of negative emotional states might ameliorate adaptation of patients to physical sickness. The improvement of positive states through happiness and laughter will also contribute to success and long life.
Reference Lists
DiMatteo, M. R., Lepper, H. S., & Croghan, T. W. (2000). Depression is a risk factor for noncompliance with medical treatment: meta-analysis of the effects of anxiety and depression on patient adherence. Arch Intern Med, 160, 2101–2107.
Fosse, R., Stickgold, R., & Hobson, J. A. (2002). Emotional experience during rapid-eye-movement sleep in narcolepsy. Sleep, 25, 724–732.
Melinda, S., Gina, K., & Jeanne, S. (2012). Laughter is the Best Medicine:The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter. Retrieved December 18, 2012, from http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm
Rod, A. M. (2001). Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health: Methodological Issues and Research Findings. Psychological Bulletin, 127(4), 504-519.
Ruch, W., & Ekman, P. (2001). The expressive pattern of laughter. Tokyo: Word Scientific.
