"Kevin Lee Smith bounds to the front of the room, grabs the microphone and utters a few words. Then something comes over him: A cascade of chemical messengers in his brain throws Smith into convulsions. For several seconds, he loses voluntary control over most of his body. His legs, arms, back and chest tense. His facial muscles squeeze upward. His stomach muscles and diaphragm spasm. His blood pressure spikes. Someone call for an ambulance; give the man a sedative!"
. . .
But Smith's audience is also experiencing the same phenomena.
Epilepsy? A cardiac arrest? Stroke? The common fit?? Simultaneously?
No!
They are, of course, LAUGHING!!
- Young children laugh about 300 times a day, an adult only 17. "Kids are less jaded. Events like a man stubbing his toe are still a big novelty to them."
- Laughter stimulates the parts of our brain that use the 'feel good' chemical messenger dopamine. That puts laughter in the category of activites you want to do over and over again, such as eating chocolate or having sex.
- Can a few minutes of laughter replace your treadmill time? No, but getting the giggles does burn some calories. Chuckle for 15 minutes every day for a year and you could drop up to two kilograms.
- When we laugh, as many as 15 small muscles squeeze our faces into a smile. Increased blood flow there may turn us a bit pinker and give us a happy glow.
- If the laugh is vigorous enough, our tear ducts can activate. Sometimes our glee can have a cumulative effect till we're literally crying with joy.
- Laughter seems to have an analgesic effect: It increases our tolerance for pain.
- And of course, not forgetting: laughter is the best medicine!!
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