When was the last time you laughed out loud?

I don’t mean the lol kind of laugh that you text to a friend but the kind that makes your belly ache or your face hurt (in a good way). I experienced this a couple of weeks ago while staying overnight at our friends cottage. We were playing a game that required some digging into our memory banks for facts, and then blurting out the answers in sync. At 9pm, after inhaling the fresh outdoors and sitting in the sun most of the day, our brains were not at their best and so we stumbled over our responses. However, since the mood was relaxed and none of us was being judged for not being at our best, we allowed the laughter at some of our ineptness to envelop us until we were all doubled over in laughter, tears rolling down our cheeks.

As we settled down, one of us commented about how good that felt and the others agreed. There’s something about a “good” laugh that is so cathartic and connecting.

I was reminded of this while listening to my most recently posted podcast with Lynn Himmelman about how to heal from your past and live in the present. Part of how Lynn helps others is by leading and offering training sessions in Laughter Yoga. In fact, she has been voted as Toronto’s laughing champion at three laughing championships. Before speaking to Lynn, I had never heard of laughter yoga or the championships, but now that I have, I find the topic of laughter fascinating.

Towards the end of our podcast, Lynn demonstrates laughter and explains how to conjure it up from within. When doing so, one does not need to be part of something laughter inducing such as when playing a fun game with family or friends, or sitting in the audience at a comedy club. Just by listening to Lynn laugh, I did too. Not as raucously as she demonstrated, but still, I wanted to laugh out loud with her, and I did. It was contagious.

I’m sure you can understand why laughter improves mood, reduces stress and strengthens relationships. Shared laughter helps people feel closer and more connected. But did you know that it also supports physical well being? A belly laugh relaxes muscles, increases oxygen intake and stimulates the body’s relaxation response.

And of course, laughter is one of the earliest forms of social communication. If you’ve had the opportunity to be around a baby that’s showing more interest in interaction and engagement, and stimulated their giggle response when you say or do something that they find especially funny, it’s virtually impossible to refrain from giggling yourself. In fact, the adult will often repeat their behaviour to elicit the same response again, because it feels so good to engage and connect so positively.

You may have noticed that some people laugh when they’re feeling uncomfortable, nervous or awkward. This is because laughter is not exclusively a response to something funny. It can also be a way that the nervous system manages emotional tension. As a therapist, my clients are often quite self aware and might even apologize for laughing and worry that this may be seen as an inappropriate response. Whether they acknowledge it or not, I might enquire about what was happening inside of them at the moment when they laughed out loud so that together, we can explore why this may happen – so, it becomes an opportunity for further self reflection.

You may have heard the metaphor, “laughter is the best medicine.” Well, it may not be the “best” in all situations, but based on what I’ve already mentioned about reducing stress, improving mood and social well being, in addition to improving physical health, it may be truer to say that laughter, along with other supports, is among the best of medicines. So, may I prescribe laughter as a tonic, to you?