There is growing literature that highlights the benefits of laughter on health. This article delves
into laughter, humor, and their impact on health using scientific evidence. Laughter is a human vocalization that is widely and easily perceived, with various neurological and social significance. According to Gonot-Schoupinsky et al. (2020), the health benefits associated with laughter and humor include enhanced cardiovascular function, sleep, relationship satisfaction, and reduced anxiety, depression, stress, and pain. Laughter is a fundamental element in well-being, supporting psychosocial and biological needs such as learning, social bonding, and health.
Biology reveals that the expression of emotion arises from the combination of critical neurotransmitters (Akimbekov & Razzaque, 2021). Negative emotions stemming from stress and anxiety induce the stress hormone cortisol, which reduces neurotransmitter activities that result
in depression. Laughter enhances the release of dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters, which suppress depression and stress through the mood-elevating endorphin hormone (Akimbekov & Razzaque, 2021). Moreover, Tamada et al. (2021) indicate that laughter generates positive emotions critical in down-regulating cardiovascular after-effects of negative emotions such as stress. Tamada et al. (2021) add that laughter produces physiological changes in various systems of the human body, which leads to improved immune functionality and circulation stimulation that prevents functional impairments.
An exploration into laughter intervention used to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression reveals
its significance on health. Samant et al. (2020) report that growing evidence suggests that cancer
patients can specifically benefit from humor and laughter. This finding stems from the perception
patients with cancer have about their illness, which leads to increased use of humor to deal and
cope with their condition and experiences (Samant et al., 2020). In this regard, laughter and
humor-based therapy serve as effective complementary therapies and self-care initiatives in
healthcare that facilitate enhanced positive outcomes.
References:
Akimbekov, N. S., & Razzaque, M. S. (2021). Laughter therapy: A humor-induced hormonal
intervention to reduce stress and anxiety. Current research in physiology, 4, 135-138.
Gonot-Schoupinsky, F. N., Garip, G., & Sheffield, D. (2020). Laughter and humour for personal
development: A systematic scoping review of the evidence. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 37, 101144.
Samant, R., Balchin, K., Cisa-Paré, E., Renaud, J., Bunch, L., McNeil, A., & Meng, J. (2020).
The importance of humour in oncology: a survey of patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Current Oncology, 27(4), 350-353.
Tamada, Y., Takeuchi, K., Yamaguchi, C., Saito, M., Ohira, T., Shirai, K., & Kondo, K. (2021).
Does laughter predict onset of functional disability and mortality among older Japanese
adults? The JAGES prospective cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology, 31(5), 301-307.