The Gift of Laughter

Until recently, little scholarly research had been performed on the topic of humor. Few experts paid much attention to this unique human characteristic. But new studies are demonstrating that the purpose humor serves is no laughing matter.

What is humor, and why do humans experience this phenomenon? Despite its seemingly lightweight nature, humor is actually a sophisticated tension-defusing mechanism, uniquely developed in human beings. Most people appreciate the sensation and seek it out. Yet few of us stop to consider the benefits of enjoying a good laugh.

Humor is actually a valuable tool of healthy aging, with a beneficial preventive effect on some of the most common health challenges. These benefits fall in four important areas:

Physical Wellness

Studies over the past decade show that humor can have a positive impact on the perception of pain. Humor also benefits the immune system. And the benefits to heart health are especially well documented. A recent American College of Sports Medicine study suggests that laughter helps keep our blood vessels healthy. Earlier University of Maryland research showed that humor lowers blood pressure. And the American Physiological Society recently demonstrated that "mirthful laughter" lowers cholesterol levels. It is believed that laughter works by relieving stress, which is implicated in so many negative impacts on our health.

Why is humor such an effective stress-buster? The process goes something like this: when we experience a stressful or frightening event, certain hormones flood our circulatory system, readying us for "fight or flight." These brain chemicals help us act quickly when we are in real danger. Yet in our modern world, we are seldom in life-threatening danger, and over time the hormones damage the lining of blood vessels. But the perception of humor makes our brains release endorphins—natural "feel good" chemicals that, in a sense "dissolve" cortisol, epinephrine and other stress hormones. Built-up tension is released, fear and anger diminish. And laughter relaxes the muscles by giving us a quick workout—a full body stretch, deep breathing, then relaxation.

Emotional Well-Being

How many times have you asked someone: "Are you laughing or crying?" The confusion is no accident: physically and chemically, laughing and crying are closely related. Yet they are, in a sense, two sides of a coin. Scientists have long speculated about the function of humor in the complex makeup of human emotions. Most believe it evolved because, with our highly developed sense of self-awareness, we need the perspective of humor to allow us to lower our wariness. Humor is a great distraction and can "take us away" from our cares. It provides a long-lasting mood boost, and is sometimes "prescribed" to help treat depression and anxiety. A Texas A&M University study titled "Humor and Hope" that appeared in the International Journal of Humor Research showed that humor "can be a legitimate strategy for maintaining a general sense of well-being."

Humor is also a powerful tool for seeing ourselves as part of the human race, gaining the perspective that our individual personal challenges are part of "the human condition." And though psychologists caution against using humor as a mask to avoid facing grief or other difficult emotions, laughter can help us process painful events. Recent hospice studies demonstrate much benefit in laughter. A study titled "Clinical Clowning: Humor in Hospice Care" showed that hospice patients often made humorous remarks to family and staff. The study investigated the use of therapeutic humor for patients at the end of life.

Even at memorial services, we witness a classic example of how sadness and laughter partner. Friends and loved ones are comforted by sharing affectionate stories of the person they have lost, and on these occasions, tears of sadness and joy often mingle. Not only physically but also emotionally, humor heals.

Social Connectedness

More and more research connects healthy aging to socialization—but in our later years, we can experience barriers to social engagement. (See "Rx Friendship: Add Socialization to Your Senior Wellness Prescription" in the August 2009 issue of Insight for Caregivers.) Fortunately, one of the major functions of humor is its capacity to bond us to other people. Anthropologists believe that humor is actually a sophisticated mechanism that developed so human beings, who traditionally lived in close quarters, could defuse tension within their close-knit groups.

Humor helps when people are experiencing conflict. Could civilizations survive without it? Even in our modern day-to-day lives, laughter helps us take ourselves less seriously and serves as "social grease" to relieve tension between people.

Humor also helped our early ancestors lessen hostility between strangers they encountered. Telling a good joke has long been known as a good "ice breaker," quickly tearing down the natural walls between people.

Brain Health

Did you know that one of the first changes loved ones are apt to notice when a person has early Alzheimer's disease is a difference in the person's sense of humor? Brain imaging shows that several areas of the brain all work together in a complex way to produce the perception of humor. Neurologists believe that studying humor can reveal insights into some fundamentals of human cognition.

Humor benefits physical, emotional and social well-being—which are three important building blocks of brain health. Beyond those benefits, humor also can give our brains a good workout. Despite its reputation as a low or even childish mode of thinking, humor can actually be a highly developed mental exercise, training us to approach ideas in different, inventive ways. Even the lowly pun requires the brain to shift perspective.

Don't Be Afraid to Laugh

Humor is an individual thing, of course. Our personal sense of humor is as unique as any other part of our personality, and what sends one person into fits of glee leaves another perplexed or rolling their eyes. And of course, not every situation is an appropriate setting for laughter. Part of what we think of as a "good sense of humor" is the sensitivity to the sensibilities of our audience.

But for most of us, adding more laughter to life can give a boost to healthy aging in many ways. With its combined utilization of mind, body and emotions, humor is indeed nothing to laugh at!