The best medicine

If there’s one thing you really want to catch from another person, it’s a smile – laughter and merriment is contagious, and scientists believe we laughed long before we could speak, in an evolutionary sense.

We know that babies giggle long before they talk, but way back, laughter is believed to help strengthen and develop our lungs for speech. Laughter is so ingrained in our brains that even children born blind and deaf still have the ability to laugh.

Studies have shown that most laughter comes about in the course of normal conversation, rather than some ‘comedy trigger’ and acts as a bonding function between humans. It also takes an enormous act of will to not join in when you observe someone else laughing and smiling – we are genetically programmed to join in! Neuroscientists have observed people’s brains while they listen to laughing sounds, and found that the premotor cortical region of their brains, which prepares the muscles in the face to move, is activated.

Our bodies release ‘feel good’ chemicals during laughter that improves our immunity, lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, memory and circulation and increases our heart and respiration rates (which burns calories!). Laughing until your tummy aches is actually doing your posture and muscle tone the world of good too.

Relationship experts report that couples who use humour as part of their conflict resolution strategies are more likely to stay together and experience relationship satisfaction long term than those who laugh less readily.

Humans aren’t the only creatures who love a giggle. Scientists have observed “tickle-induced vocalisations” from primates and rats apparently have very ticklish necks, which cause them to ‘chirp’ in a form of laughter. Anyone with a dog knows that our best friends are extremely prone to a ‘smile’ when their lead or favourite food comes out.

Find the fun in your world today – spread some good humour!