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Bolded words' definitions will be found in the medical glossary I've provided at the bottom of this myTake.
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Remember that time you watched a movie that made you laugh so hard you cried? Can you think back to a time a friend told a joke that you couldn't stop guffawing over? Laughter isn't just fun—it has health benefits, too.
How Laughter Affects the Immune System
When you bust out a good laugh, your diaphragm turns into a "powerful pump for lymphatic circulation," according to an article in Laughter Online University. This will help your lymphatic vessels carry blood throughout your body, which "helps your lymph nodes to clean and filter this fluid, removing waste products, dead cells, and even unwanted microorganisms."
If your lymphatic flow is increased, your immune system will be improved; there will be "more lymph flowing through the nodes, thus producing more lymphocytes, antibodies, etc."
Comparing Laughter to Exercise
Laughter can obviously be no replacement for exercise, but it gets your blood flowing, pumping, and rushing just like a good workout would. You can also burn calories while laughing.
According to Helpguide.org, "… one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year."
Why, you ask, does laughter count as a form of exercise? Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary physiology at Oxford, answers that question: "Laughter involves the repeated, forceful exhalation of breath from the lungs[.] … The muscles of the diaphragm have to work very hard."
Laughter Can Help You Bear or Lessen Pain
Laughter helps the body release endorphins, which are "natural opiates," according to the New York Times's article on laughter as a form of exercise. "Endorphins are known 'to play a crucial role in the management of pain,' " states the Times. The article then goes on to explain how endorphins, being natural opiates, bring calm, euphoria, and well-being to the body.
Endorphins also increase pain thresholds: "… in [recent studies], pain thresholds did go up after people watched … funny videos," reports the New York Times.
Positive Effects on Your Mental Health and Mental Performance
As was stated before, laughing produces endorphins. They not only increase pain thresholds, but they also are called the "happiness hormone," which, obviously, will make you happier. Other hormones that balance your mood and increase our motivation are serotonin and dopamine. These hormones also help to fight multiple mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
Laughter's relation to hormones doesn't end there, though. Laughing actually fights a few hormones, some of which go by the names of cortisol and epinephrine. These hormones try to fight stress, but they end up causing much discomfort. Because laughter combats them, comfort will be elevated.
In addition to making you happy, calm, motivated, and other good things, laughter improves your self esteem. Since it makes you more optimistic and happy (among other things, of course), it improves your outlook on life, making it more positive. A positive outlook on life will be reflected and give you a positive outlook on yourself. Also, optimism will help you maintain your sense of humor, no matter what's happening. This actually creates positive thoughts and emotional distention, which boost self-esteem.
There's a Lot More!
There are so many more health benefits of laughter—they can't all be fit into one myTake! Laughter improves your social skills, your sense of humor, and just your ability to laugh! It will also make you more social in general.
So go have a good laugh!
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Medical Glossary
Antibody: "a blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen. Antibodies combine chemically with substances that the body recognizes as alien, such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign substances in the blood."
Diaphragm: "a dome-shaped, muscular partition separating the thorax from the abdomen in mammals. It plays a major role in breathing, as its contraction increases the volume of the thorax and so inflates the lungs."
Distention: "the state of being distended, enlarged, swollen from internal pressure."
Lymph: "a colorless fluid containing white blood cells, that bathes the tissues and drains through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream."
Lymphatic: "relating to lymph or its secretion."
Lymphatic system: "the network of vessels through which lymph drains from the tissues into the blood."
Lymphatic vessels: "thin-walled vessels structured like blood vessels, that carry lymph."
Lymph nodes: "each of a number of small swellings in the lymphatic system where lymph is filtered and lymphocytes are formed."
Lymphocytes: "a form of small leukocyte (white blood cell) with a single round nucleus, occurring especially in the lymphatic system."
Microorganism: "a microscopic organism, especially a bacterium, virus, or fungus."
Opiates: "a drug with morphinelike effects, derived from opium."
Sources
https://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/laughter-immune-system/
http://www.innerbody.com/image/musc06.html
Google's automatic dictionary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_vessel
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/laughter-as-a-form-of-exercise/
https://psych2go.net/5-mental-health-benefits-laughter/
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=13145
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