LAUGHTER IS CONTAGIOUS

Have you ever noticed how much funnier things are when people are laughing? Marketers did when they added laugh tracks to sit-coms. Canned laughter often loses spontaneity because the laughter doesn't always remain consistent with the level of humor to which it is responding.The reverse is also true. You can change from a great to a grim mood when the people around you are sullen and unsmiling.

I was thinking about laughter when a witty friend and I were riding a few miles together in my car. We both broke into gales of laughter after I had speeded up very quickly to catch up to another friend who was seven cars ahead of us. My friend commented wryly that she just had her face lifted by the g-force! She laughed as she said it and it broke both of us up to share a great guffaw.

Naively, I commented that the friend who was a few cars ahead of us, and who I know to be extremely competitive, must have been offended when I told him I usually drove faster than he. I followed this by telling her that I am not really competitive. The instant laughter from her pointed out the ridiculousness of what I had said since most see me as quite competitive in many areas.

The science of laughter is called gelotology. We laugh at the exaggerated, the ridiculous, the satirical, the unexpected comeback, puns, clever ideas, and self-deprecation. Naturally, people may also laugh at cruelty and sick jokes, but all good things are often used in poor taste. Laughter is very important to stress management. Elizabeth Curie wrote some of the benefits of laughter. "Hormones: Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline), dopamine and growth hormone. It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins, and neurotransmitters. Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells. All this means a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects of stress."

Many laugh when others might cry and feel embarrassed by their own response. It seems to be a need to laugh to ward of tears. It may be a protectvie thing from our past, that of not letting an enemy see your vulnerability. Laughter provides a physical and emotional release. Read this article in total to find the many benefits to humans of laughter.