Laughter is infectious, it is funny, and it can help you forget your immediate problems at hand. What’s with laughter that not only instantly makes you feel better, but it can even help keep chronic diseases at bay, simply because it is such a stress-buster! So, what are the other things about laughter that we should know about and no clue about?
Animals Feel It Too
Do you know how to make rats laugh? Well, tickle it. Okay, it is just not rats. Chimps and dogs do it too! But when rats laugh, they do not laugh at your jokes. Instead, they laugh when they play. When rats laugh, they play more and the other way around as it encourages bonding.
When it comes to laughter, you see they aren’t too different from humans. Laughter is a sort of emotional expression also a type of communication. For instance, if you smile at somebody, he/she smiles back, and it is like a smile bond. No wonder we use a lot of emojis when we text someone, like smileys and LOLs.
Laughter Minus Jokes
When adults have to answer what makes them laugh, they will say, jokes without even thinking. But then think about it, do you only laugh when you hear a joke? No right?
As per research, we laugh the most when we talk to our friends. You resonate with that, don’t you? When you are with friends, you laugh at their various statements and comments. It’s a way of reaction. Laughter is more to do with social behavior and than jokes.
The Difference Between Deliberate and Helpless Laughter
When you watch the laughter shows, don’t the fake laughter in the background bug you? Well, your brain can tell the difference between practiced laughter or real laughter. Listening to staged laughter can tune into an area of the brain called the anterior medial prefrontal cortex that is good at understanding other people’s emotions. This explains that you can automatically comprehend the other’s deliberate laughs even when you are not forced or instructed to do so.
Laughter Is Contagious
We think laughter is contagious. At least our brain scans reveal so. So, our brain responds to the laughter as we prepare the facial muscles to join in too. More than one person has an infectious response to laughter. We know it is real or staged. When you join in with the laughter, it isn’t the only contagion, but it may also mean understanding what that peal of laughter means.
Comedians Will Make You Happier
When you are at a comedy club, you should laugh, and when an MC of the comedy club warms up the audience helping increase the energy of the audience in between the acts. People find a comedian’s jokes funnier. Imagine a joke coming from a random person. Would that make you laugh your heart out? Well, now imagine how much you would laugh if the same joke comes from Jim Gaffigan or Kevin Hart. You are bound to laugh. Do you get our point?
Laughter Better Than Cardio
Laughing can bring your heart rate by 10-20 % and burn extra 10-40 calories for every 10-15 minutes you spend laughing. Not easy, right? But imagine laughing maniacally to lose some weight! However, we could say that it is no match for a run or a jog every day.
If you want to do that, you have to laugh continuously for three hours to burn off the calories from a packet of chips or any other salty snacks you may crave for. Come to think of it. Instead, one would consider other forms of exercise for the calorie burn and just let laughter be! You know, laughing because you think something is funny, not for anything else.
So many facts and figures on laughing, right? And we never quite thought of the lol moments of our lives and what it meant. Now, come to think of it, nothing like throwing your head back to laugh over something. And imagine doing it without thinking how you look like while you laugh or how you sound, laugh for the pure joy of it. It is a wonderful feeling, savoring it even more so! So, go on and laugh your heart out. Your body and mind deserve it!