The saying goes, “Laughter is the best medicine.” This is true in the existential sense that we all need to laugh more and maybe not take ourselves so seriously, but it’s also been proven with scientific research that there are physical, emotional and cognitive benefits to regular, genuine laughter.
The psychological effects of laughter include reduced stress and anxiety as well as improvements in mood, self-esteem and coping skills. Several research studies support the idea that laughter lowers neurotransmitter stress responses by reducing the strength of neuroendocrine hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine.
Cortisol, sometimes called “the stress hormone,” influences, regulates, and moderates many of the body’s physical responses to stress. This includes blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and activation of the central nervous system. In a stressful situation, our cortisol levels increase to help us respond to that stress, but it’s important that they come back down to avoid negative effects on our health. The academic demands of the university environment forces many of us to move from one stressful situation to another relatively quickly, so the impacts of laughter on regulating cortisol are helpful for students in maintaining healthy physiological responses to stress.
Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, relaxes airway muscles and contracts blood vessels to improve breathing and stimulate the heart. Cortisol and epinephrine together create the body’s “fight or flight” response to stress. Reducing the strength of epinephrine through laughter can help to alleviate this pounding heart sensation that many of us feel going into an exam.
Studies have also found that laughter has positive effects on pain tolerance and can cause an increase in specific immune factors. These results would suggest that regular laughter can help us feel better, manage our stress more effectively, and even boost our immune system to avoid getting sick. For students, particularly around midterm season, these effects are all desirable.
Other studies have found that after the initial contractions associated with laughter, the skeletal and cardiovascular muscles actually relax further. Results also suggested an increased efficiency in respiratory system function. Many of us are very tense around this time of year, so this physical relaxation of our bodies can be a contributor to reducing stress on its own.
So what does this look like? There are several ways to incorporate a healthy dose of humour into your everyday life. For example, listening to a funny podcast while you’re on your way to and from school fills time that is otherwise spent staring off into space or ruminating on all the homework you haven’t gotten to yet. The easiest way to laugh more is to joke around with friends and take the opportunities to laugh when they present themselves. It seems so simple, yet the tone of many conversations around midterms tends to shift away from light-hearted humour. Redirecting this energy away from stress and taking the opportunity to laugh will have positive impacts on your mental and physical health and wellbeing.
The physiological effects of laughter are so positive that there are clinical programs around the world for laughter therapy and laughing meditation. While laughter may not completely eliminate stress, it can be helpful in managing the pressures of student life.