“You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants”. ~Stephen King, Hearts in Atlantis
“Laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life”. ~Hugh Sidey
“Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end”. ~Max Eastman
Did you know researchers have been tracking laughter dating back millions of years ago of how during evolution went from laughter to become humorous?
According to evolutionary studies between 4 million and 2 million years ago ape panting during social play is known to be an ape’s sound of laughter during times of safety. Today if you tickle a chimp, they will not laugh ha ha, but make panting sounds. Some researchers argue this is our evolutionary precursor to humour as we know it today.
Rodents’ exhibit high pitch sounds when tickled and they play. Our guinea pigs were notorious for this whether they chased each other around or holding them in our arms tickling their belly.
By the age of 3 ½ to 4 months we as humans start our sounds of laughter and anyone who experience a babies first laugh sinks deep into our heart and brings instant laughter and smile to those around.
Is laughter really something we are born naturally or is something we learn from being around family and friends from birth who loves to smile and laugh? Well that’s another discussion, but laughter I know is contagious and it sure feels amazing.
Laughter is the best Medicine; we all know this quote from Reader’s Digest but is it true? How does laughter help us with our health? The University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore proved in 2005 laughter is linked to the healthy function of blood vessels. The endothelium (tissue that forms the inner of blood vessels) dilates to increase blood flow.
Laughter and humour also boost your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect from stress that can wreak havoc on your body.
Helpguide.org states these facts about Laughter and Health:
Laughter is good for your health
- Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
- Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
- Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
- Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
Laughter and smiles can also slow down the aging process, although you may get those laughter lines, they are much better then stress lines on the face, and since your muscles in the face are working against gravity, well need I say more.
Healing is so important whether physical or mental and laughter can roll this medicine up into one. After my first c-section and in much pain my sister helped walk me around the halls the next day but in doing so she had me cracking up in so much laughter. She has always made me laugh, so many great memories of my sister as we shared a room for many years and her great sense of humour. Hurt my stitches, yes it did, but by that evening I was walking better then the nurses said they usually see so soon after a c-section. Just remember, after any operation on your abdomen if you have someone you know who will make you laugh grab a pillow and hold it against the stitches, something I didn’t have with me walking through the halls that day.
I could go on about the benefits of laughter but I think it’s common sense to all of us how good it makes us feel.
Here are some great videos I found that are some of my favourites, old and new. Watching them has me on the floor rolling around and whenever I need a good laugh to pick up my day and continue on I will come back to these, it’s really all I need to jump start a gloomy forecast into a bright and sunny one for the day.
Laughter helps in so many ways, make someone you Love laugh today!
I haven’t tried this yet .. but sounds like fun as long as you’re responsible enough to know this means a drink of your drink and not a shot or guzzling a drink each time.. or driving a vehicle after playing this game or being underaged…. that’s not funny, that’s just dangerous.. but you really don’t need to drink to appreciate the laughter Robin Williams always gives
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