Newsletter 13 - Laughter

.. description: Discover how laughter reduces stress hormones and activates brain reward systems. Learn why joyful learning creates stronger neural pathways for language acquisition.



Newsletter 13 - Laughter

“Le rire, c’est le soleil ; il chasse l’hiver du visage humain.”

“Laughter is the sun; it drives winter away from the human face.”

― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

While I had a lot to say about how stress wreaks havoc in your system, I have equally a lot to say about how wonderful laughing is for your brain and your body.

I mean, there’s an entire branch of science that studies the psychological and physiological effects of humor and laughter on the brain and the immune system calledgelotology!

And what does this science tell us?

Laughter (and humour in general) is a complex cognitive function that involves the whole brain working together in different stages and regions:

• the left hemisphere processes the words of a joke,

• the frontal lobe activates emotionality,

• the right hemisphere processes the pattern (carries out the intellectual analysis required to "get" the joke),

• the sensory processing area of the occipital lobe shows increased activity,

• the nucleus accumbens elicits happiness,

and then laughter erupts!

• Laughter is different from other emotional responses that are confined to specific areas of the brain, it connects through a circuit that runs through many regions of the brain - which, incidentally, are involved in friendship, love and affection.

• Laughter and humor have many benefits, such as:activating both sides of the brain to enhance learning,leading to a greater capacity to adjust and expand one's perceptions, greater adaptability, open-mindedness, and creative problem-solving.improving immune functioning,stress relief,improving cardiovascular health,reducing anxiety and tension,sense of safety,improving mood,reducing the limbic "fight-flight-freeze” response : decreased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, relaxed muscle tension.

Laughter and humor have many benefits, such as:

• activating both sides of the brain to enhance learning,

• leading to a greater capacity to adjust and expand one's perceptions, greater adaptability, open-mindedness, and creative problem-solving.

• improving immune functioning,

• stress relief,

• improving cardiovascular health,

• reducing anxiety and tension,

• sense of safety,

• improving mood,

• reducing the limbic "fight-flight-freeze” response : decreased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, relaxed muscle tension.

And since my "stress" newsletter specifically mentioned cortisol, let's see what happens with that little fellow.

Laughing swaps the cortisol in our bloodstream with highly sought after chemicals in the brain:

• Dopamineenhances learning, motivation, and attention.

• Oxytocinis considered the “empathy hormone” and the “bonding chemical,” and when it enters the bloodstream it creates feelings of relatedness.

• Endorphinstrigger feelings of pleasure; people can endure 15% more pain simply by laughing for a few minutes beforehand.

Do you want to laugh right now?Click here

If you're curious about my sources or want to know more about laughteryou should click here

And if you want to go back on my other newsletters that cover all kinds of brain related, language related, coaching related fascinating subjects, I suggest you go tomy newsletter webpage