Fans of the Mary Poppins film starring Julie Andrews may recall that memorable sequence when she joins the Banks children and Uncle Albert on the ceiling. They float there through the power of laughter, and they go on to sing about all the benefits of a good giggle. We might not be able to promise you laughter-induced levitation, but scientists have been looking into how the odd chuckle may be good for your health (https://longevity.technology/lifestyle/can-laughing-daily-keep-the-doctor-away-new-study-sheds-light/).
It might seem intuitive that laughter makes us feel good. After all, it’s generally triggered by a happy or funny event and it’s a way to let loose and express what we’re feeling inside. However, we can’t just say something is true as a substitute for real evidence, and if laughter really is beneficial, we want to properly quantify the effects so we can replicate and make the best use of them.
To carry out the study, researchers first encouraged participants to laugh. They did this through jokes, funny videos and laughter therapy. While this was going on, they monitored a range of physical and mental markers to try to measure the laughter’s impact.
From a physiological standpoint, regular laughter seemed to improve heart rate and blood pressure, both of which can become elevated in stressful situations and contribute to further health issues down the line. When it came to the mental and emotional effects, participants reported positive changes to their mood, including a reduction in stress levels, all leading to a better quality of life. Laughing together also appears to encourage social connections, which reduce loneliness and can lead to people feeling happier and more fulfilled.
This research strongly suggests that laughter has health benefits, but it doesn’t reveal the mechanisms that enable it to work. Scientists suspect that the release of endorphins, the hormones often associated with boosting your mood, may play a role, but there will need to be more investigation if we want to understand it fully, let alone figure out how to best use these effects in public health policy. We’re also a bit reliant on people self-reporting their mood, which isn’t the most reliable form of data gathering.
You might not be receiving laughter prescriptions from the doctor any time soon, but finding ways to encourage it may be an affordable, accessible way to improve the health of the population.
