Laughter reduces pain, increases job performance, connects people emotionally, and improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain.
By Hara Estroff Marano, published on April 05, 2005 - last reviewed on June 21, 2005
Laughter, it's said, is the best medicine. And there's lots of evidence that laughter does lots of good things for us.
It reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort.
It reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and nondiabetics alike.
It improves your job performance, especially if your work depends on creativity and solving complex problems. Its role in intimate relationships is vastly underestimated and it really is the glue of good marriages. It synchronizes the brains of speaker and listener so that they are emotionally attuned.