February 11: Laughter

Laughter is absolutely delightful. I look forward to Thursday night game nights for so many reasons, but laughter is definitely one of them. I delight in laughing and hearing others laughing and making other people laugh. Thankfully, laughter is plentiful in my life. In additional to the (sometimes ribald) joking on Thursdays, I have been rewatching Will & Grace (the original series) and it makes me laugh out loud all the time. And of course, almost everything my cats do make me laugh. My husband pointed out the other day how important laughter was to our relationship. I've heard the sayings that "laughter is the best medicine" and "laughter is good for the soul" so I decided to see if there is any scientific proof to back these up. Turns out, there is. Not only does the science point to laughter benefitting your own health (it releases endorphins, our homegrown feel-good chemicals, to induce euphoria and happiness, and it protects your heart, is anti-inflammatory, and lessens the body’s stress response). But most interesting to me is the fact that laughter forms and enhances social bonds. 

In 2005, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson offered an explanation of the evolutionary benefits of humor. He is a proponent of group selection, an evolutionary theory based on the idea that in social species like ours, natural selection favors characteristics that foster the survival of the group, not just of individuals. And he argues that laughter is a characteristic that has survived natural selection and even been enhanced by it, because it is so helpful for society. 

Laughter has its roots in the games of early primates and has features in common with animal vocalizations. (games!). In early human societies, laughter was a reliable indicator of relaxed, safe times when no one was getting hurt, and developed to help us make and maintain social bonds. Shared laughter signals a commonality of worldviews, preferences and convictions, which reinforces social ties and the sense of belonging to the same group. (yep, that is exactly what game nights do!). 

I delight in science, especially evolutionary biology, almost as much as I delight in laughter. And it is delightful to have scientific evidence to help me hone in on my mission in life- spreading laughter, much like finding delight in the small things, can indeed change the world. 

With delight,

♥Jamie