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Asked by eliza13 to Sinead, Eleanor, Adam on 21 Nov 2013.
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Sinead Cullen answered on 21 Nov 2013:
Hi Eliza,
Cool question. Well exactly how we laugh is still a little unknown, but there are researchers working on trying to find this out and they are called Gelotologists (which is sort of funny). These researchers say that laughing can happen when our brain is not expecting something to happen. So say in school you are sitting at your desk and everybody is walking into class, then the next person that walks in falls, your brain is not expecting this to happen, and it is an element of surprise and this causes us to laugh. So this is similar to when we are listening to someone telling a joke, if you are not expecting the punch line, it will be an element of surprise and you will laugh.
Research also says we laugh more around our friends and family and psychologists say that we laugh to try strengthen bonds between our friends, classmates, and family.
Have you heard the saying ‘Laughter is the best medicine’? So laughter can have a really good effect on your body, it has been found to lower blood pressure, increase the amount of cells that protect you against getting a cold or a tummy bug,and helps reduce stress.
Hope this helps
And keep on laughing 🙂
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Adam Murphy answered on 21 Nov 2013:
Hey Eliza,
Sinead’s dead-on, but there are a few other theories. There’s a weird one that it’s a coping mechanism, that we laugh with relief too. So when a comedian says something that surprises us, the brain processes the surprise, realises the surprise isn’t dangerous, and makes us laugh because it’s relieved!
But then, we don’t understand the brain all that well, but since laughing is good for you health-wise and it burns calories, might as well do it anyway!
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Eleanor Holmes answered on 21 Nov 2013:
Very interesting points from Adam and Sinead.
Our bodies release adrenaline and raise our blood pressure when we get a surprise or build up tension or see/hear something we don’t expect.
Laughter lowers blood pressure and relieves tension so it is advantageous to laugh often and laugh well.
Why then do we laugh at old jokes between friends and while quoting television shows and films we have seen a hundred times? To strengthen friendship bonds. If we feel happy and relaxed around our friends we like them more. It’s good to like your friends and to feel relaxed, so we naturally laugh more with our friends. And we laugh less when we are around people that we think maybe we should be a little bit afraid of.
Aah, it all makes sense now!
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