Humour is a contagious condition that's good for you to catch..
Laughter reduces stress, improves memory and helps keep our hearts healthy. The ability to laugh is hard-wired into our systems, and new research shows that it's not only good for us, it's contagious. There's a reason sitcoms are funnier when we're in a group: when we see someone laugh, our brain seems to activate "mirror neurons" that send us into the same fit of laughter.
A little fun can lead to a more positive approach in everyday situations, says psychologist Kelly McGonigal. She teaches guided laughter, a group technique in which you prep your body for the physical work of laughter to reap the benefits: joy and social interaction. "all the efforts we put into reducing stress we ought to put into laughing," McGonigal says. A good giggle helps you:
Scorch kilojoules. Laughing for 10 to 15 minutes increases your heart rate by 10-20%, which means you can burn an extra 40-165k a day. Over a year, that can add up to a around two kilograms in weight loss.
Ease pain. In a US study, experts discovered that children tolerated pain better than usual when watching a funny tv programme.
Stay healthy. Humour increases the production and effectiveness of natural killer cells that stomp out germs. These cells are elevated for at least 12 hours after just an hour of watching, say, Will Ferrell run around inhis underwear.
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