What Comedy Does to Your Brain?

The Science of Laughter: What comedy does to your Brain?

“‘Science’ and ‘Art’ once bumped into each other in the hall room!”. Definitely, not in the conventional Indian classroom! (Giggles). This time, at a Comedy Club, the only place where humans pay to be infected with a contagious illness – Laughter!

Well, what if I told you that Comedy is not just art, but Science as well? Wait. What?

So the scoop goes like this: The last time you laughed at a joke, your entire brain got stimulated. Yes! You heard it right! Your entire brain got involved in this process.

If you are in the frame of mind, for a quip, here’s one:

“Emperor Augustus was out for a spin around his empire; when he spotted a man in the crowd with whom he shared a strong resemblance.

“Quite intrigued, he asked: “Has your mother been in service at the Palace, one time?”

“No, your Majesty” he replied,” but my father used to be.” Did that hit? If yes, you just activated many areas of your brain: areas that drive motor, emotional, cognitive, and social processing.

Humor has existed for ages and when we go back in time, the inceptions of laughter trace back to 10 and 16mn years ago. Laughter in the early ages was used as a social tool and the advent of laughter was closely linked to how we feel i.e. we only laugh when we are aroused in a positive or amusing way. Laughter is a response to humor. Humor on the other hand is the streak of being amusing or comic. Humor in its early era originated from scornful mocking among the apes, which then passed onto humans and developed over time, into jokes, parody songs, and until now expanding into every sphere of life. Humor may or may not induce laughter, and laughter can be achieved by other means such as tickling. Laughter, a physiological response produced by humor or other means forms an essential part of social bonding. Laughter and humor are often related and play an important role in society and as you may notice, today’s pop culture, and advertisements, all use humor to engage the audience by tickling their funny bone.

We, humans, are somewhat obsessed with the idea of gaining pleasure and this theory forms the reason for every, individual living. Laughter in a human; begins at the stage of infancy (usually in 3-4 months) and continues until death. In infants, laughing makes it obvious that the baby’s brain and vision have developed into a stage of recognizing faces and exhibiting emotions intentionally. Laughter is a powerful response that can help to establish tie-ups, regardless of one’s race, linguistics, etc. Our early ancestors are thought to have used laughter as a sign of agreement or to display their fondness for their fellowmen. Gelotology is the name given to the physiological study of laughter. Apparently emotional responses are confined to certain areas of the brain, whilst laughter appears to be formed by a circuit that passes through many areas of the brain.

When was the last time you stopped by a Comedy Club? Or when did you last binge-watch a sitcom? Laughter echoes through the walls of a Comedy Club, where Comedy, an amalgamation of art and science reveals itself. The antics at a Comedy Club are covertly playing with your brain. As it is obvious, these antics at a Comedy Club or in your favorite sitcoms initiate laughter.

As the old adage goes, Laughter is an excellent medicine. When we laugh, it bolsters our immune system, uplifts our mood, and shields us from the destructive bruises of stress. Both laughing or observing laughter can initiate numerous regions of the brain. Amidst laughs, the area controlling the muscles; i.e. the motor cortex, the frontal lobe which aids in the understanding state of affairs, and the area regulating positive emotions gets stimulated. The left side of the brain cortex analyzed the words and structure of the joke, while the large frontal lobe became very active. Also, the right hemisphere carried out an analysis required to understand the joke. The activity of the brain waves then advances to the sensory processing area of the occipital lobe. All these circuits in action can help build up neural connections in the brain, thus providing a healthy brain, able to coordinate activities. The limbic system is crucial, here.

Laughter is an unconscious instantaneous reaction to something that ignites pleasure in us. Laughter is percussive air squeezing and might be the simplest vocal noise we humans can make. Laughter is nothing but a form of communication. It is used to communicate understanding, to show that we like or dislike something, to dispense laughter, and sometimes to express our hostility. According to Dr.Gulshan Sethi, Tucson Medical Center, Laughter is internal jogging. It affects all internal organs and bolsters the abdominals, without the help of any physical exercise.

Laughter boosts our immune system. Studies have shown that finding humor in a stressful situation or watching a funny film helps in the production of natural killer cells – white blood cells that fight cancer, foreign bacteria, and colds. “Back pain, Period cramps?” Laughter has shown to reduce physical pain. Pain levels of participants in a study conducted were found to have reduced after laughing. Want to improve your character? Ditch those books you are reading about it, and simply laugh, its time saving plus comes at no cost. People who laugh a lot are found to be more resilient and have decreased rigidity in life. They also are found to be more successful due to their positive attitude towards life.

Do you know that the last time you visited the Comedy Club, the antics injected you with a vaccine and guarded you against some major diseases at such a low cost? Of course, not literally. The vaccine was “laughter”. This vaccine releases oxygen to the brain thus helping in the overall development of the brain and also help in minimizing the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and stroke.

Do you have moments when you forgot where you kept something? Treat yourselves to a laugh. New research into laughter has shown that humor can drastically improve one’s short-term memory. In a new study conducted by Loma Linda University at Southern California, a group of 20 normal, healthy adults were made to watch a funny video for 20 minutes straight, without distraction, and a control group was asked to sit with no video. On performing short term memory tests on both these groups, and analyzing the results, the researchers concluded that the group that watched the funny video scored better on the tests.

In a study published in Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), a research conducted into the brain activity of laughing people suggests that laughing can produce healing gamma waves , similar to the ones seen in long term meditators.

What if I told you laughter is also good for your heart and not just your brain? A hearty laughter, isn’t it? Wait until you appreciate yourself for the answer. Not just a hearty laughter, but it also guards you from heart attack, a study at the University of Maryland says so. Also it can reduce resting blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of heart disease.

When was the last time you burst into laughter after seeing others laugh? Ever wondered why your favourite sitcoms have laugh tracks? Laughter is contagious, that’s why. Simply the sound of laughter can provoke laughter.

At a Comedy Club, or whenever you laugh do you know what happens to your body? As it is told, Laughter helps in reducing the physical symptoms of stress. When one laughs, tension builds up in the core muscles , which can briefly improve circulation and blood pressure. But, suddenly in between a chuckle, the tension drops, which leads to lowering heart rate and blood circulation , thus stirring a holistic relaxation.

The Comedy Club antics also showers your brain with some cognitive benefits as well. It has been found that when we are involved in something humorous, it becomes easier for our brains to understand “big picture” perspective situations. As the brain transitions into this mindset, its helps to understand things as less intimidating. When the brain gains a more spacious perspective, the brain then realistically considers information which previously was labelled as overwhelming, thus leading to more rational and effective decision making.

How many of you have experienced a sense of relief at the Comedy Club from your daily problems? This is because laughter plays a crucial role in counteracting negative emotions. It checks on negative emotion and substitutes them with positivity, feelings of abundance and a value of gratitude. And as it is obvious, a positive mindset is essential for the healthy wellbeing of an individual.

At a Comedy club, when the antics shower you with their pack of humor, they might be consciously helping you in many ways. Humor has been found to be helpful in lightening your burdens, to inspire hope, allows you to connect to others and also helps you stay grounded, to have that laser sharp focus and be alert always.

“Ha, ha” that weird sound…..Ever wondered from where that sound comes from? Sophie Scott, a Professor at University College London explains that when we laugh, large contractions occur in our rib cage which happens very fast. These contractions push air, thus making the sound. It is an elementary way of making noise. On the brain level, it is often linked to a change in the flowing endorphins. According to Sophie, this can give one a pain killing sensation. Feared or on the verge of losing your temper? A laugh can lower the adrenaline levels in your blood. How many times have you laughed while on high temper in front of a toddler? Think about it and now you know.

Cracks between you and your partner? Take your partner on a ride through a Comedy Club or crack jokes often and treat them to a laugh. An ongoing study of couples at the University of California on 150 long term relationships has concluded that laughter acts as an adhesive that binds couples together.

Laughter is also a form of exercise for your brain. The emotional and cognitive aspects of humor has proven that it enhances the ability to remember. Humor promotes improved brain connectivity between certain regions of the brain that take part in maintaining short- term memory. Under trial, in elderly individuals laughter has proven to significantly improve signs of insomnia and capacity to sleep and those affected with depression. In those prone to anxiety, it may enhance sleep by lowering stress levels. Humor helps in memory contextualization i.e. it aids in recalling memories relating to negative emotions by deducting negative feelings. It might also improve recalling memories of stressful situations which is often quite disturbing to recall for the mind. This is possible if humor had been casted into the memory immediately or passed down during reappraisal of the memory. It also aids in positive emotional memory enhancement. Memories that display the strongest emotions whether positive or negative are the best remembered memories we have. Humorous information easier to remember than the non- humorous ones, studies say.

Until now, we have known that humor and laughter affects certain regions of the brain. Sorry to burst that bubble, humor can actually restructure your entire brain. Here’s how, humor helps in neuroplasticity of the brain in a number of ways:

1.It helps improve flexibility of thoughts and creative energy in you. Humor overlaps with creative cognition in a major way, wherein many areas of the brain are instructed to create a creative outcome, here, with a humorous effect. Genetic studies have established that creative thinking in the brain is directly linked to much improved neuroplasticity and the flexibility in thoughts. Therefore, a good sense of humor helps in overall cognition.

2.It promotes brain connectivity and restructuring. The ability to cognize humor fosters structural changes in the brain, which is associated with the reappraisal of a concept or memory. Moreover. positive emotion initiated through laughter increases the connectivity between thalamus and the frontal cortex, which in turn facilitates mental reappraisal and restructuring. According to these findings, the more you indulge or associate with humor, the more flexible you will be in shifting your perspective and also can lead to novel ideas and more adapted thinking.

Not in the mood? Laughter and humor are the right tools to regulate emotions and exert emotional control, thus improving cognition. Laughter boosts the release of endorphins and induce a positive mood. Ever heard of the tip to start your presentation with a joke, or did you notice us use a joke in the beginning? Yes, humor and laughter can help improve the attention towards a subject matter and also helps in constructing a supportive social environment. That’s not all, humor also build resilience in you. Over the decades, studies have been conducted wherein two groups were given a set of negative images and were asked to record their emotional responses. The group that used humor as coping strategy found it easier to react to negative emotions than the group which used non humorous coping strategy. In this way, humor helps improve emotional resilience. Humor has also shown to complement emotional control in humans. It increases connectivity between certain areas of the brain that processes logic and emotions.

Distractions don’t sound good, do they? Not always. Humor helps in emotional distraction when a stressful situation or negative emotions pop up. It promotes distraction of factors causing stress and emotional pain.

There are different types of humor, based on age, social context, exposure and personality:

The positive type of humor is called benign humor. Detrimental humor is the humor that comes at the expense of the others. Other types of humor include dark humor, nonsense humor, slapstick humor. Dark humor includes humor that point towards a person’s situation and also is associated with high status and intelligence. Nonsense humor constitutes an irrational idea or circumstance, where there is no partial incongruency. It increases activity in areas of the brain associated with word processing and language. Slapstick humor simply refers to non verbal situational comedy. It is much simpler than verbal humor, and as a result is able to reach a large audience.

Are you living that pale dull life? Want to sprinkle some fun into your life? Here are 5 simple tips to improve humor and laughter in your life:

Watch Comedy: Take a ride along the nearest Comedy Club and treat yourselves to a laugh. This helps to improve your sense of humor and also find a social belonging among the human race and also adds that fun element to your life.

Creative energy: Engage in creative hobbies and let your inner creativity unleash through. A creative mindset helps promote humorous ideas. The brain activity that happens in the brain while taking upon creative hobbies indirectly has the power to impact your sense of humor.

Stay positive: Stay positive and create a positive mindset which in turn helps to harbor humorous opportunities.

Laugh more: Laugh more, connect with others. Look at everything from a funny perspective and find joy in the little things.

Social interactions: Interact with people quite often which helps to develop humorous opportunities, also to develop and strengthen your humor style.

Laughter, is an essential part of human life. It helps to connect with others and overall well being of an individual. Modern science has included laughter therapy as a medicine to patients. Laughter yoga also has become an integral part of people’s live in modern times. Laughter has also proven to decrease mortality rate in humans. So what are you waiting for? Visit a Comedy Club, binge watch your favourite sitcom, crack a joke and let laughter begin!