By Craig Graves, Staff Writer
It is often said that laughter is the best medicine, but it is never said for which ailment laughter is the best medicine. Perhaps to decide if laughter is the best medicine, or if it is indeed medicine, one must first know what laughter is and what causes it.
Laughter is defined as the noises produced as a result of the brain responding to a stimulus, which in turn creates contractions of an individual’s diaphragm, according to Eric Chudler, Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Chudler went on to say that hearty laughter also includes muscle contractions in an individual’s arms, legs, and torso. This means that the most genuine laughter a person can experience involves muscles from all over the body. While hearty laughter uses many of the body’s muscles, the simplest laughs only use the same facial muscles as smiling.
“Laughter is part of the universal human vocabulary,” said Robert Provine, Ph.D. and professor of psychology and neuroscience from the University of Maryland. “All members of the human species understand it. Unlike English or French or Swahili, we don’t have to learn to speak it. We’re born with the capacity to laugh.”
It is true that anyone is capable of laughing as newborn babies can laugh long before they utter their first words. Even some apes are able to laugh or emulate laughter, though not to the extent as humans.
According to Kara Rogers, a Ph.D. of pharmacology from the University of Arizona, laughter is itself a stimulus for the brain and activates the hypothalamus and midbrain, which play roles in people’s experiences of pleasure.
Provine and Chudler both agree that true laughter is classified as a “spontaneous reaction,” or rather that people cannot force themselves to laugh. And thanks to this spontaneous nature, laughter is wholly unpredictable.
In a study conducted by Provine that spanned ten years and observed more than 2,000 interactions that produced laughter, any number of different things can elicit the laughter of another person. Provine found that the reasons why someone might laugh vary from person to person just as the sound or intensity of laughter can vary.
Based upon these findings, laughter is strictly limited to jokes. In fact, most of the examples of natural laughter that Provine observed did not result from someone telling a joke. Instead, simple statements or questions were met with laughter. Provine concluded that laughter is such a common occurrence that human speech has adapted so that laughing never interrupts what is said, but rather happens whenever one might cough or take a breath.
Now with this explanation of what laughter is and what can cause it, the question oif laughter being the best medicine is brought back into focus. Medicine is meant to help improve an individual’s health and wellbeing, or in some cases maintain a healthy lifestyle.
In his observational study, Provine found that laughter was infectious. Whenever one person laughed, others soon followed or at least smiled to some extent. He also determined that the stronger the relationship shared by the individuals, the heartier the shared laughter was.
Those findings show laughter to be a social experience and enjoyable for all involved. The feeling of enjoyment or any other similarly happy emotions can cause various chemical reactions in the brain, most notably to produce dopamine and endorphins.
“Endorphins are opiates capable of relieving pain,” said Rogers.
Rogers also stated that growth hormones are produced by laughing and can help with growth and metabolism. Other chemicals produced by laughing aid in lowering blood pressure, boosting the immune system, and relieving stress and tension.
Based upon this information, laughter might be considered as good medicine as it is both generally healthy and does not cost anything. There are some things people should keep in mind, however. Since hearty laughter does involve muscle contractions in the torso, there is a possibility that some people could experience abdominal pain from excessive laughter.
“People who have recently had abdominal surgery should try to avoid laughing to alleviate any possible injury,” said Chudle. “There are some cases were individuals have had heart attacks or strokes as a result of intense laughter. Patients with broken or fractured ribs should also be careful.”
To return to the main question of laughter being the best medicine, the answer is not a definite ‘yes.’ While laughter itself does provide many health benefits like relieving stress and boosting the function of the immune system, it cannot cure every ailment and is not advised for everyone. It is best to seek medical attention for illnesses and injuries as no one can laugh away the pain of a broken leg or the flu.
