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This newsletter I wanted to spend some time specifically focused on laughter. I understand that in recent months laughter may not have been the top of your priority list. I wanted to write this newsletter specifically about laughter since there is so much good evidence to say that should definitely change. Engaging in specific behaviors as well as certain mindsets is known to shift our experience.
Laughter has been found to have many benefits! Research on laughter has shown that by laughing socially with others we can increase the endorphins our body creates, in addition to how laughter increases the neurotransmitter serotonin, which can positively boost our mood. While studies aren’t clear on how long this boost will last having something that can work similar to an antidepressant in some ways to boost mood is pretty cool! [1] The Mayo Clinic has also reported on how short-term benefits of laughter include how laughter can stimulate your organs (increasing the intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released in the brain), activate and relieve your stress response and can soothe tension. Long-term benefits of laughter include that laughter improves the immune system, relieves pain, increases personal satisfaction making it easier to cope with situations and connect with others, and improves mood. [2]
The question I have for you is: when was the last time you really laughed? Doctor Colleen Hacker has suggested that if you aren’t having full belly laughs each day then it’s time to change that to experience positive benefits. [3]
To me, I think the present is a fantastic time to think about thriving in the current situation versus just surviving. How can you build more laughter into your life? I’m not talking about in the future, but right now. Months ago we wrote a newsletter about how it can be important to limit negative content that we are consuming, but it is just as important to think about how to boost content that puts us into a good mood.
Here are some additional questions for you to consider:
-What are the typical types of things that lead you to laugh so hard your stomach hurts or where you have tears rolling down your face? Is it when you dance, play a game, watch a comedy show, are willing to laugh at yourself?
-How can you make a consistent effort to increase laughter into your daily life?
-What negative things are you consuming through television, news, social media, etc. that you could substitute out for something that makes you laugh?
The last point I have is that right now it may be hard to laugh because you don’t feel like it. There is a concept we have in psychology sometimes termed “acting as if,” which fits with the idea of “fake it til you make it.” For this concept, you “act as if” you are feeling joy or finding things funny. Just by starting to engage in behaviors such as smiling and allowing yourself to laugh (knowing that it may be hard at first) we are able to achieve genuine positive changes.
[1] David DiSalvo, Six Science-Based Reasons Why Laughter is the Best Medicine, June 5, 2017, Retrieved on January, 31, 2020 https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2017/06/05/six-science-based-reasons-why-laughter-is-the-best-medicine/?sh=8e74afe7f04f
[2] The Mayo Clinic Staff, Stress relief from laughter? Is no joke, April 5, 2019, retrieved on January 31, 2021, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
[3] Laughter Permitted Podcast with Julie Foudy, Episode 53: Dr. Colleen Hacker Returns, December 21, 2020