You Used to Laugh More

and it's more important that you think

Photo by OurWhisky Foundation on Unsplash

Children laugh 400 times a day. Adults laugh about 15. We are missing out on about 385 laughs daily.

Adulthood comes with a lot of responsibility, but your primary responsibility is your own health and well-being.

It isn’t hard to find the humor in most things, if you’re unserious enough lol.

The Research

Physiologically, laughing floods you with dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. Think of a magic pill that triggers pleasure and satisfaction, anxiety reduction, stress reduction, pain relief, and mood boosting all in one. No prescription needed.

When you actually LOL, cortisol–the stress hormone interrupting your sleep, slowing your metabolism, making it harder to think straight, drops. Your body stops pretending it’s fine and actually starts to be fine.

One study found that simply anticipating something funny cut cortisol levels by nearly 50%. Not even the laugh, the anticipation. Your body starts healing at just the thought of a funny moment.

Laughing also protects your memory. Over time, cortisol damages the hippocampus, which is the part of your brain responsible for learning and retention. Laughing and being silly isn’t just for children. It’s medicine. Especially as we age.

Laughter as Connection

Have you ever locked eyes with a stranger mid-laugh and felt an instant bond? That’s not a coincidence. That’s biology.

Laughter isn’t just a reaction. It’s a form of contact.

Neuroscientist Robert Provine spent decades studying this. What he found: most laughter isn’t even in response to jokes. It’s in response to people. We laugh in conversation. We laugh to signal safety. We laugh to say I see you, we’re okay, you can relax.

We’re 30 times more likely to laugh in group settings than alone. Which is why community isn’t just good for your soul, it’s good for your nervous system, and essential to your overall health. Laugh with your partner, your child, your coworker, a stranger on the street. People who laugh together like each other more.

For me, laughter is both escape and connection. It’s the moment I stop managing how I come across and just exist with another person.

Scheduling Laughter

Find one person you can be completely goofy with, and share the kind of humor that would embarrass you if anyone else heard it. That relationship is where laughter lives.

Also, schedule a couple of 10-15 minute “laugh breaks”. Curate your TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to be full of things that make you laugh. Search for funny videos, like them, then let the algorithm work in your favor.

Stop finishing every moment with composure. Let the laugh out before you’ve decided if it’s appropriate. Let it be loud. Let it be ugly. Let yourself be caught off guard by your own joy.

You deserve to laugh 400 times a day. Go find someone to be ridiculous with this week, or be ridiculous by yourself. Laugh until you cry. Laugh until milk comes out of your nose. Laugh like you did before you had to grow up.

Wishing you lots of love and laughter xoxo

Sources

https://lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu/laughter-health-benefits/

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/laugh-it-up-5-benefits-laughter-older-adults

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_laughter_brings_us_together