Stressful? Serious? Brooding over something at home or office? Bogged by the reports of violence and inhumane happenings from the morning newspaper or the news channel? Feeling insecure? In the present times, when stress levels are spiralling and the media constantly bombard us with bad news, be you are a school student or a top executive or a political leader, you are bound to be grim and stressful. Just relax a little. Turn the channel or put on a CD to a humorous comedy. Try a good mouthful of hearty laugh. You will find immediate relief from stress. If you continue doing it, you will realise that bursts of belly laughter hold the key to a more joyful and healthier life. Laughter is a great way to help you to lower your stress levels, improve your health, cope up better with stressful world and also quicken the process of healing. The way and with the speed the laughter is spreading over the world in the form of laughter yoga, laughter therapy, laughter clubs, laughter networks, think of taking little time out from the daily grind for a few minutes of hi hi hi! Ha ha ha! Wa ha ha!
Why We Laugh: According to Aristotle, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at being superior to them. Freud believed that laughter is an "economical phenomenon" whose function is to release "psychic energy" that had been wrongly mobilised by incorrect or false expectations. Philosopher John Morreall believes that human laughter may have its biological origins as a kind of shared expression of relief at the passing of danger. Not much is known about the brain mechanisms responsible for laughter. But it is known that laughter is triggered by many sensations and thoughts. We laugh at the sound of laughter itself. It occurs unconsciously. We don’t decide to laugh at these moments. Our brain makes the decision for us. Of course, we may consciously inhibit it. Whatever may be the reasons, we laugh to express certain emotions like mirth, joy or delight, laugh at others and also at ourselves when situations may be humorous, laugh off or a laugh away to dismiss something as ridiculous and also laugh in secretly to rejoice something naughty.
Evolution of laughter: We believe laughter evolved from the panting behavior of our ancient primate ancestors. Today, if we tickle chimps or gorillas, they don’t laugh “ha ha ha” but exhibit a panting sound. That is the root of human laughter. Other animals produce vocalizations during play, but they are so different that it is difficult to equate them with laughter. Rats, for example, produce high-pitch vocalizations during play and when tickled. But it is very different in sound from human laughter.
Humour is part of human civilisations: Humour and laughter is not something new. It is a part of all traditions, cultures at all the times. In India, in olden times, the kings and emperors, used have learned people on different subjects in their durbar (court). The durbar included jesters or Vidushak who used to bring smile to the royal lips with his wit. The Indian Jataka stories, the stories of Birbal and Tenali Raman are filled with humour that not only entertained then but these continue to be stress busters even today. But humour as such is not practised in India. In western countries, it seems to be of more practical prevalence. Of course, nowadays, you will find several good serials both in India and other countries dedicated to humour.
Laughter is contagious: Laughter is contagious. When one starts laughing, others just follow without waiting for appreciating the situation. Even when you see strangers laughing, you involuntarily start to laugh or smile, sometimes even when you did not hear the joke. That is why TV comedy serial makers put a lot of sounds of laughter in their programmes. According to scientists, laughter truly is contagious: the brain responds to the sound of laughter and the muscles in the face to join in the mirth. It is absolutely true: "You laugh and the whole world laughs with you." It simply bubbles up from within us in certain situations. We laugh at the sound of laughter itself.
The language of laughter: The language of laughter is universal. There are thousands of languages and dialects, but everyone laughs much the same way. Everyone can understand the language of laughter what ever may be his language, community or country or sex. A child first learns to laugh at the age of 3 to 4 months. At ages 5 and 6, we see the most exuberant laughs. The child communicates with others through the language laughter and crying. The children laugh about 400 times a day while adults only laugh about 15 times a day. Some how, with age, we become more stressful and loose the ability to laugh frequently. Or on the reverse, because we stop laughing enough, we become more stressful. May be, laughter is associated with play. Hence adults laugh less than children because they play less. It is said that the angels fly because they take life lightly.
Laughing is relationship: Laughter is social. We laugh when in groups, when watching a comedy program with family or a game with friends. We hardly laugh when alone. According to psychologists, most laughter is not about humour; it is about relationships; it is a communication tool. Laughter has a bonding function within individuals in a group. Everyone loves someone who can make him or her laugh. The more you share your sense of humour, the more friends you will have. Evolution may have selected laughter as a useful device for promoting social communication. Laughter is like a social lubricant. It releases tension and feelings of animosity in a group. It’s often positive, but it can be negative too. There is a difference between “laugh with” and “laugh at.” People who laugh at others may be trying to force them to conform or casting them out of the group. When you make fun of yourself, you disarm others. A sense of humour makes one more efficient performer in social and other fields of life. The sense of humour also brings you more friends.
Evolution of laughter: We believe laughter evolved from the panting behavior of our ancient primate ancestors. Today, if we tickle chimps or gorillas, they don’t laugh “ha ha ha” but exhibit a panting sound. That is the root of human laughter. Other animals produce vocalizations during play, but they are so different that it is difficult to equate them with laughter. Rats, for example, produce high-pitch vocalizations during play and when tickled. But it is very different in sound from human laughter.
Humour is part of human civilisations: Humour and laughter is not something new. It is a part of all traditions, cultures at all the times. In India, in olden times, the kings and emperors, used have learned people on different subjects in their durbar (court). The durbar included jesters or Vidushak who used to bring smile to the royal lips with his wit. The Indian Jataka stories, the stories of Birbal and Tenali Raman are filled with humour that not only entertained then but these continue to be stress busters even today. But humour as such is not practised in India. In western countries, it seems to be of more practical prevalence. Of course, nowadays, you will find several good serials both in India and other countries dedicated to humour.
Laughter is contagious: Laughter is contagious. When one starts laughing, others just follow without waiting for appreciating the situation. Even when you see strangers laughing, you involuntarily start to laugh or smile, sometimes even when you did not hear the joke. That is why TV comedy serial makers put a lot of sounds of laughter in their programmes. According to scientists, laughter truly is contagious: the brain responds to the sound of laughter and the muscles in the face to join in the mirth. It is absolutely true: "You laugh and the whole world laughs with you." It simply bubbles up from within us in certain situations. We laugh at the sound of laughter itself.
The language of laughter: The language of laughter is universal. There are thousands of languages and dialects, but everyone laughs much the same way. Everyone can understand the language of laughter what ever may be his language, community or country or sex. A child first learns to laugh at the age of 3 to 4 months. At ages 5 and 6, we see the most exuberant laughs. The child communicates with others through the language laughter and crying. The children laugh about 400 times a day while adults only laugh about 15 times a day. Some how, with age, we become more stressful and loose the ability to laugh frequently. Or on the reverse, because we stop laughing enough, we become more stressful. May be, laughter is associated with play. Hence adults laugh less than children because they play less. It is said that the angels fly because they take life lightly.
Laughing is relationship: Laughter is social. We laugh when in groups, when watching a comedy program with family or a game with friends. We hardly laugh when alone. According to psychologists, most laughter is not about humour; it is about relationships; it is a communication tool. Laughter has a bonding function within individuals in a group. Everyone loves someone who can make him or her laugh. The more you share your sense of humour, the more friends you will have. Evolution may have selected laughter as a useful device for promoting social communication. Laughter is like a social lubricant. It releases tension and feelings of animosity in a group. It’s often positive, but it can be negative too. There is a difference between “laugh with” and “laugh at.” People who laugh at others may be trying to force them to conform or casting them out of the group. When you make fun of yourself, you disarm others. A sense of humour makes one more efficient performer in social and other fields of life. The sense of humour also brings you more friends.
Benefits of laughter
Therapeutic practises of laughter: Although we may treat the phraseology "laughter is the best medicine," as an old saying, now research has attributed specific medical benefits to laughter leading to improved health and well being. Laughter is free of cost and it has no negative or side effects. Laughter offers distraction from pain. This has led to birth of few therapies all over the world during last few years. Such therapies are being practised in hospitals and practiced by doctors, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals to help patients to cope up with or quickening the process of healing. Such therapies include Humour Therapy, Clown Therapy, Laughter Therapy, Laughter Yoga or Laughter Meditation. In Humour Therapy, humorous materials such as books, shows, movies, or stories are used to encourage spontaneous discussion of the patient’s own humorous experiences. This can be provided individually or in a group setting. In Clown Therapy, individuals trained in clown therapy make rounds of the hospital particularly children’s ward and entertain them with jokes, actions, music, fun or magic. In Laughter Therapy, patients are encouraged to laugh with things from childhood, situations, movies, jokes, comedians, basically anything that makes them laugh. In laughter meditation, like traditional meditation, it is the laughter that focuses the person to concentrate on the moment, through a three stage process of stretching, laughing and or crying, and a period of meditative silence. In Laughter Yoga, similar to traditional yoga, there are exercises, which incorporate breathing, yoga, stretching techniques along with laughter. Or this is practised in addition to other yoga exercises. Of course laughter is meant to aid in healing and not to replace treatment.
Laughter guards the heart and Blood Pressure: High blood pressure and heart diseases are caused by several factors like heredity, obesity, smoking and excessive intake of saturated fats etc.. Stress is also one of the factors. Distressing emotions lead to heart disease. People, who are chronically angry and hostile, live in stressful lifestyle; have a greater likelihood of heart attack, and greater blockages of their coronary arteries. It is believed that when you laugh, serum cortisol, which is a hormone that is secreted when we are under stress, is decreased. So when under stress, if you laugh, the cortisol that has been released during the stress reaction is reduced. Thus laughter reduces stress. Laughter improves the blood circulation and oxygen supply to the heart muscles. Due to improvement of blood circulation there are less chances of forming a clot. Further studies show mental stress impairs the endothelium. It is the protective barrier lining the blood vessels. When the endothelium is impaired, it may cause inflammatory reactions that lead to cholesterol build up in coronary arteries, which may ultimately lead to a heart attack. Laughter appears to increase production of infection-fighting antibodies, which can help prevent hardening of the arteries and subsequent conditions caused thereby such as angina, heart attacks, or strokes. Laughter also activates the cardiovascular system, so heart rate and blood pressure increase, when the arteries dilate, causing blood pressure to fall again. Repeated short, strong contractions of the chest muscles, diaphragm and abdomen increase blood flow into your internal organs, and force respiration. Laughing helps expand capillaries, increasing blood and oxygen flow throughout your body, says Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland's Medical Center in Baltimore. This may help protect you against heart attacks and strokes by relaxing constricted blood vessels.
Fight Diabetes with Sweet Laughter: A Japanese study finds that a chuckle after a meal may help lower your blood sugar. The study of type 2 diabetes—the most common form of the disease—found that laughter was linked to lower blood sugar levels after a meal. Over two days, participants were given identical meals. On one day, they watched a humourless lecture, and on the next they watched a Japanese comedy show. The group of 19 people with diabetes and five without had their blood sugar monitored during the study. Afterward both diabetics and non-diabetics alike had lower glucose levels after laughing through the comedy show than they didwhen they listened to the monotonous 40-minute lecture. (http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20030528-000003.html)
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