The Power of Laughter

“I am especially glad of the divine gift of laughter. It has made the world human and lovable, despite all its pain and wrong.” W.E.B. Dubois

Earthquake in Haiti, floods in Tennessee, Taliban trampling on women’s hard won rights in Afghanistan, Delta variant, mask mandates and bans by governors, sexual harassment, disinformation regarding vaccines, global warming, devastating forest fires. Stop the world I want to get off!

Last week, my daughter’s best friend Kristi, from California came to visit with her thirteen year old daughter. One starry evening, we were all sitting outside by the pool and relaxing. I was discussing my boyfriend Rich’s daughter’s upcoming wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. “What does she do for a living”, Kristi inquired. I responded, “Rich says she is an attorney; I say she is a lawyer, (which is how I referred to myself). An hour of laughter ensued where Kristi, in a British accent (with her hair piled high on her head in a bouffant “do” wearing big dark glasses stated: “She’s an attorney. I am a non-attorney. Attorneys at the wedding must present their attorney card and will be sitting in a separate section. Attorneys will be served lobster fra diablo for dinner with wine, while non-attorneys will eat bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread with tap water.

My son Keith, who should do stand-up got into the act along with my grandson Jesse who shouted “I am an attorney”. Perhaps you are thinking “I guess you had to be there”, but all 6 of us were hysterically laughing and adding to the wedding scenario until my daughter begged us to stop; her belly was hurting and she could not breathe. The next morning I was still laughing as I replayed it in my mind.

Why is laughter considered the best medicine? It is one of the best tools we have for fighting stress. Research reveals that it is a potent drug with the contagious power of a virus that conveys multiple benefits for the mind and body.

1. It’s a potent endorphin releaser. Laughing with others releases endorphins (our feel good chemical) in our brain via opiod receptors. The more of these a person has in the brain, the more powerful the effect. Heroin, a highly addictive drug, also binds to these receptors, which suggests laughter induces a euphoria similar to a narcotic (minus the side effects).
2. Laughter contagiously forms social bonds. Spreading endorphin release through groups promotes a sense of togetherness and safety (like a game of “endorphin dominoes”). And couldn’t we all use a dose of that right about now!
3. Laughter fosters brain connectivity. Not all laughter is the same. One study found differences in how we perceive joyous laughter, taunting laughter and tickling laughter, each of which activates connections between different brain regions. Our brains must work vigorously when we hear a laugh to decipher what sort of communication is coming through. Interesting!
4. Laughter is central to relationships. A study showed women laugh about 126% more than their male partners while the men seem to instigate the laughter the most. Couples who laugh together report a higher quality relationship.
5. Laughter has an effect similar to an anti-depressant. Laughing activates the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin, the same brain chemical affected by the most common type of anti-depressant SSRIs.
6. Laughter protects your heart–it has an anti-inflammatory effect that protects blood vessels and heart muscles and lessens the body’s stress response linked to increased inflammation. ” Laughter should be a part of every heart disease prevention program”.

Our conversation regarding the term attorney or lawyer reminded me of a Seinfeld episode, about the life of a group of friends and their daily struggles set mostly in an apartment building in Manhattan’s upper west side. It was described as a show about nothing according to Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. Most of the humor revolves around ‘disasters, miscommunications, moral ambiguity and faulty logic”. It focused on the minutiae of daily life and literally nothing happened in terms of story telling, melodrama or emotions. In that sense, it was an escape from the issues of the day and the depressing news. Some of the humorous quotes became pop culture references like “shrinkage”, “no soup for you” and the “Soup Nazi”.

On the other hand Rowan and Martin’s Laugh in, which aired from 1967 to 1973 was modern, decadent and reflective of the times. It popularized the rapid style of the vignette comedy show where comedy sketches, punch-lines and gags were edited together in rapid and almost random format. We were introduced to Lily Tomlin’s Edith Ann and Ernestine the telephone operator (one ringy dingy) and the talents of Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Goldie Hawn and JoAnne Worley. That was one of my favorite shows. Remember “Sock it to me” and the closing credits happening while the cast told jokes from the joke wall. Laugh-In was the forerunner to Saturday Night Live which covered and continues to cover social, political and moral issues. It really is a social commentary on what is happening in the news, not concerned with the daily lives of its characters like Seinfeld and Friends.

Whether you choose slapstick comedy like The Three Stooges or I Love Lucy reruns or movies like Vacation with Chevy Chase and Seems Like Old Times with Chevy Chase, Charles Grodin, and Goldie Hawn, or sign up for Laugh Yoga classes, try to incorporate laughter into your daily routine. Laughter–it does a body good!