We Could All Use a Good Laugh

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”  Victor Borge, entertainer

When’s the last time you had a really good laugh?  Recently one of my PeerRxMed buddies and I were talking about some of our COVID patient care challenges and frustrations, and somehow the conversation went sideways and we suddenly both found ourselves laughing so much it “hurt.”  When I had finally regained my breath and wiped the tears from my eyes, I found myself sharing between giggles, “Wow!  It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed like that.  Thanks, I really needed it.”  

“Yeah,” they said, “me too.” 

Hopefully, it hasn’t been a “long time” for you, but we all could likely use a good laugh, and then another, and another.  With the cumulative heaviness of the past 2 years, many of us are experiencing a significant “laughter deficit.” 

Gelotology (the study of laughter) has found profound physiological and psychological effects of laughter, including benefits for our heart, lungs, and muscles and the release of endorphins which relieve stress, soothe tension, and elevate our mood.   And those benefits extend from the giggle, chuckle, and belly laugh all the way to the guffaw, howl, and cachinnation (raucous laughter).

But perhaps the most important benefit of laughter is that it connects us to each other.  Indeed, laughter research (Gelotology, remember?) has validated that laughter is indeed “contagious,” and the endorphin release induced by social laughter reinforces neural pathways that support formation, reinforcement, and maintenance of social bonds. 

So how can we have more of those “I really needed that” moments?  By placing ourselves in laughter-inducing circumstances!  This could involve surrounding ourselves with funny people, watching funny films, videos or television, reading funny books, telling jokes or funny stories, or playing with children and allowing their natural silliness to rub off on us.  There is even a practice called “laughter yoga” that involves prolonged, voluntary laughter and which in my experience produces that same wonderful laughter-induced endorphin buzz and profound sense of connection with the other participants that we’ve come to expect from “real laughter.” 

So this week, why not make an intention to laugh, preferably with someone else, at least once each day.  Not only will doing so elevate your mood and help bring you out of any COVID-induced funk you might be experiencing, but you’ll bring them along for the ride and help break down two years of “social distancing.”  Oh, and it will be a whole lot of fun.  And right now, we could all really use some of that … 

References:  Here are a few videos to get you started:

·       Baby Laughter video compilation:  Baby Laughter

·       Laughter Yoga – Short Introduction:  Laughter Yoga