Laughter is undoubtedly one of the most pleasant sensations that human beings experience. Not only does it make us feel really good, but it is also scientifically proven that a simple smile has multiple benefits for our health . You know why?
When we laugh, the cortex of the brain is activated and releases electrical impulses just one second after we start laughing, thus expelling all the negative energy from our body. In this process , endorphins and a hormone called dopamine (closely related to states of psychological well-being) are released. At the same time, levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) have been shown to drop markedly.
There are many studies that support these results. In fact, this appreciation of the benefits of laughter was already formulated in his day by the famous neurologist Sigmund Freud , who observed the effect that laughter had, in particular, on the brain.
Laughter not only makes us happier people, but it also plays a very important social role . Humans begin to develop this ability a few months after birth and, as we grow older, we lose that facility to allow ourselves to be carried away by laughter at something funny. It could be said that our sense of the comic is modulating and becoming a little more select to appear. In fact, adults usually laugh between 15 and 100 times a day, compared to an average of 300 times a day for children.
The effect of laughter has been studied therapeutically since the 1970s. With this, a technique has been developed to improve people’s physical and psychological state : laughter therapy. The secret of its success is that, by deceiving our brain, since it is not able to distinguish true laughter from provoked, we can achieve the same benefits. Thus, laughter begins as simulated through body exercises in a group, with eye contact and children’s play, and finally becomes a real and contagious laugh.
In Chinese culture , where laughter has been investigated since the 6th century BC, it has even been studied how laughter affects our body depending on the predominant vowel . This is because the different pronunciation of one vowel or another causes various internal vibrations. It is not something random, but it is the body itself that decides how we are going to laugh according to the area where it needs these waves to occur. And it is that each vowel has a symbol value; they mobilize certain emotions and enhance different aspects.
With all this, it has been shown that laughter , that unique ability in humans, makes us be happier, but also healthier . According to science, variety of benefits is truly amazing. In this gallery we reveal what they are.
