{"id":12021,"date":"2023-02-21T12:00:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=12021"},"modified":"2023-02-19T20:53:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T01:53:16","slug":"5-wellbeing-benefits-of-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=12021","title":{"rendered":"5 Wellbeing Benefits of Laughter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-opt-id=2074932882  fetchpriority=\"high\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11301\" src=\"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Baby-Laughing.jpg?resize=300%2C199&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Adorable baby laughing\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:4000\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Baby-Laughing.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:4000\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Baby-Laughing.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:4000\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Baby-Laughing.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:1256\/h:835\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Baby-Laughing.jpg 1256w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">If &#8220;laughter is the best medicine&#8221;, then what are those symptoms that laughter would be improving? The number of positive benefits in the body may surprise you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">1. The University of Oxford showed that laughing can actually increase pain tolerance. This may be because a good solid belly laugh releases endorphins into your brain. Regardless of the reason though, the improvement in pain tolerance was an even better if comedy was experienced as a group. To laugh is good. To laugh together is great.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">2. Laughter can give you resilience by boosting your immune system, making it easier for your body to fight off infection. Research also shows that laughing can decrease stress hormones such as cortisol as well. In fact (and this may seem crazy), the impact of reduced stress levels can even be improved by \u2018fake laughter\u2019, smiling, and trying to laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">3. Physiological studies have shown that laughter decreases pulse wave velocity for your heart and can reduce stiffness in your arteries. This can have a positive impact on the health of your cardiovascular system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">4. Put this one is the category called &#8220;never saw THIS coming&#8221;! One 2011 study of women undergoing in vitro fertilisation showed that those who were entertained by a clown were 16% more likely to get pregnant than those who had not been in the clown group. If you had to guess why this might be, you could suppose that it&#8217;s because of the one-two punch of lower stress hormone, plus an increase in endorphins, the body&#8217;s natural feel-<em>good<\/em> chemicals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">5. Laughter helps you live a more mindful life by grounding you in the present moment. When watching comedy or laughing with friends it is a two-way interaction that requires our attention. Whether you are listening for the punchline, or watching a scene unfold into comedic disaster it keeps you in the moment, not in the past or worrying about the future. Being present in the here and now is a way of counteracting anxiety and alleviating depression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrzone.com\/engage\/employees\/five-ways-laughter-boosts-wellbeing\">Post adapted from this article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If &#8220;laughter is the best medicine&#8221;, then what are those symptoms that laughter would be improving? The number of positive benefits in the body may surprise you! 1. The University &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Baby-Laughing.jpg?fit=1256%2C835&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-37T","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2589,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2589","url_meta":{"origin":12021,"position":0},"title":"No Joke &#8230; Laughter Loves The Heart","author":"Will Clower","date":"April 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"If you could bottle laughter, and prescribe it to patients, you would make a gazillion dollars.According to this report, laughing (basically) gets rid bad chemicals and encourages good ones.Dr. Lee Berk, at the Oak Crest Health Research Institute in Loma Linda, assigned 20 adults with type 2 diabetes, average age\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2720,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2720","url_meta":{"origin":12021,"position":1},"title":"Funny Memories","author":"Will Clower","date":"August 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Laughter is a drug.And the nice thing about this particular addiction is that it is so hard to over dose on it.The healing power of humor is getting a new look from research science (now see here). You know those funny TV shows you watch, or that silly person you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1892,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1892","url_meta":{"origin":12021,"position":2},"title":"More (Emotional) Heart Happiness = Less (Physical) Heart Crappiness","author":"Will Clower","date":"December 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"There's an exception to every rule ... except for the rule that there's an exception to every rule.\u00a0For example, self-medication is almost never recommended. But in this case, these two drugs are so effective and infectious that you would do well to dose up and get started right away.\u00a0Follow @willclowerHappiness.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/happiness2Bsign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2571,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2571","url_meta":{"origin":12021,"position":3},"title":"Aping Laughter","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Laughter is a serious subject. Really.In fact, this article shows us that laughter is kind of like language. It is one of the traits uniquely shared by we advanced primates (chimps, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans).And ... I'm just thinking here ... if the ability to let out a good solid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12605,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=12605","url_meta":{"origin":12021,"position":4},"title":"Laughter and Connection","author":"Will Clower","date":"May 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember \"Esperanto\"? No worries, nobody else does either. This was supposed to be a universal 2nd language for planet Earth, created to tie us all together. How do you say \"face-plant\" in Esperanto? Fortunately for us, we already have a universal form of communication that extends across all languages, all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mental Health&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mental Health","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=559"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/connections_between_friends.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/connections_between_friends.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/connections_between_friends.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/connections_between_friends.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/connections_between_friends.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12599,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=12599","url_meta":{"origin":12021,"position":5},"title":"The #1 Way To Spritz Yourself With Happy Brain Chemicals","author":"Will Clower","date":"November 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In my former life as a neuroscientist, I would stimulate specific areas of the brain to map the behaviors stored within its neuronal networks. Others have more extensively explored regions that control all aspects of behavior: movement, speech (speaking it, and understanding it), feelings, memories, even religious spirituality (link: for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/positive_happy_neurochemicals_of_the_brain.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/positive_happy_neurochemicals_of_the_brain.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/positive_happy_neurochemicals_of_the_brain.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/positive_happy_neurochemicals_of_the_brain.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/positive_happy_neurochemicals_of_the_brain.png?fit=1092%2C612&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12021"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12024,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12021\/revisions\/12024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}