Anatomy of a Laugh

Your whole body gets a kick out of a good chuckle. Here’s what happens when you laugh, according to research.

• Your heart and lungs are stimulated.
• your heart beats faster and your blood pressure rises temporarily.
• You breathe deeper and oxygenate more blood.
• Your body releases endorphins, your own natural pain killers, and you produce more immune cells.
• You burn seventy-eight times as many calories as you would in a resting state.
• Your diaphragm, facial muscles and internal organs all get bounced around a message sometimes called “internal jogging”

After you’ve laughed, your muscles and arteries relax. That’s great for easing pain. Also, your blood pressure lowers and your pulse drops below normal. Some reachers think all this aids digestion.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

The New Engish Bible translation of that verse says that “a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but low spirits sap a man’s strength.