You've probably heard laughter is the best medicine, and there's actually some truth to the age-old adage. Anyone who has had a bad day knows that a laugh can relieve stress, anxiety and brighten your mood.
Who wouldn't want a life filled with laughter and joy? A good sense of humor is not only fun and healthy, but it can acutally help you live longer.
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Having a good sense of humor is important for staying resilient when life throws a curveball. But don't take our word for it, ask Dr. Naushira Pandya, MD, chair of the geriatrics department and associate professor at Nova Southeastern University. She says her patients in their late 90s and even a few centenarians all have the same thing in common: they're laughing all the time and they're not afraid to crack a joke."There's something to be said for keeping a sense of humor, and these are people who didn't just learn it later on. They always had a sense of humor," she explains. "I'm really convinced that having a good sense of humor helps because it affects your attitude to how you see setbacks, deal with illness and people around you."Dr. Pandya says people who like to laugh are more likely to engage with others, care about others, be more social and maintain long-standing connections. These characteristics are common traits also seen in people living in Blue Zones, areas around the world where residents consistently live up to 100.
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How Laughter Affects Your Body
There is scientific evidence to explain how laughter can improve longevity.
First, it keeps your health in optimal shape by boosting your immune system. Laughter increases the number of antibodies and immune cells, giving you more soldiers to fight against harmful germs and diseases. Additionally, when you laugh, your brain releases feel-good chemicals like endorphins and dopamine that relieve stress and make you feel happy. More laughter means less cortisol, the stress hormone in the body. Chronic activation of cortisol suppresses immune function.And that's not all: laughing also provides cardiovascular benefits similar to light exercise. It helps you breathe in more oxygen and gets your heart rate up, which is followed by a period of relaxation. Considering how laughter affects the body, a laugh a day might keep heart disease away. Research in Japan, a country with a large population of super-agers, found that people who do not laugh daily have higher rates of heart disease and death from any cause than those who do laugh every day.The benefits of laughter seem especially powerful among women. Women with a strong sense of humor were associated with a longer lifespan. The benefits of humor on cognitive health were still present in women up to age 85."Health is not just determined by the number of diseases on your medical record," Dr. Pandya explains. "It's a combination of your physical, cognitive, social interactions and your mental well-being, as well as your chronic conditions."Not in the mood to laugh or lacking in funny friends? Fake it. Research on laughter yoga, an exercise where people alternate between 35 to 45 seconds of forced laughter before deep breathing, helps relax the muscles, increase oxygen to the heart and reduce stress and anxiety. Plus, it helps you sleep better and feel better overall.
Bottom line: it's not just the number of years you have, but the quality of those years that matter.
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Sources
Naushira Pandya, MD, a geriatrics department chair and associate professor at Nova Southeastern UniversityBlue Zones: Lessons From the World’s Longest Lived. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.Stress relief from laughter? It's no joke. Mayo Clinic.Immunology of Stress: A Review Article. Journal of Clinical Medicine.Laughter Is No Joke | Hidden Health Benefits of Laughter. UnityPoint Health.Associations of Frequency of Laughter With Risk of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in a General Population: Findings From the Yamagata Study. Journal of Epidemiology.A 15-Year Follow-Up Study of Sense of Humor and Causes of Mortality The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine.The effect of laughter yoga on perceived stress, burnout, and life satisfaction in nurses during the pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Read More Details
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