The Health Benefits of Family, Friends and Laughing

With the holidays right around the corner, our thoughts likely turn to family—perhaps more than at any other time of year. From watching the big game together to sipping festive drinks to enjoying a big meal to debating politics around the table, the holidays are a time for families and friends to come together.

Family get togethers aren’t just about tradition and making memories; there is real science behind the idea that being surrounded by family and friends can have some very valuable health benefits, especially if you or a loved one is ill.

During times of illness, it’s natural to feel vulnerable. Family members and close friends can provide the necessary comfort, security, and understanding. Their words of encouragement can alleviate stress, anxiety, and feelings of isolation which, in turn, help better manage disease symptoms.

According to David Spiegel, Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, “Numerous studies have shown that social isolation is associated with increases in all-cause mortality risk to the same degree as smoking or high cholesterol levels…depression and the associated social withdrawal/alienation is an independent predictor of shorter survival with cancer and heart disease because we are social creatures, and we manage stressors better when we are not alone with them.”

Life-altering illnesses can often draw families closer together. By relying on each other for support, families become a source of strength for one another. The shared experience of navigating through illness cultivates empathy, compassion, and a strengthening of the bond between family members and friend groups.

Don’t underestimate the healing power of laughter

To make the most of your precious time together, it’s important to make sure that family and friends don’t exhaust all their time providing or managing care. Rather, sit back and enjoy each other’s company and just laugh—and laugh often.

Perhaps you laugh while watching an old sitcom together. Or perhaps someone in the family is known for telling an unending supply of dad jokes.

The Mayo Clinic reports that laughter is a great form of stress relief. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces short-term physical changes in your body that:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulating your heart, lungs and muscles. More specifically, laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A good laugh decreases your heart rate and blood pressure, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after and lowering levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term, laughter also provides a number of meaningful benefits. Among other positives, laughter can:

• Improve your immune system. Positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
• Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers, known as endorphins.
• Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations and connect with people
• Uplift your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your stress, depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier.
• Delay some serious diseases. A 2018 study found that laughter therapy effectively delays cardiovascular complications of type 2 diabetes. Plus, watching a comedy show was shown to decrease a rise in glucose levels after eating. From a breathing standpoint, laughter and clowning around reduced hyperinflation of the lungs in people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Laughter has even been shown to decrease inflammation (as measured by pro-inflammatory cytokine levels) in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Improve cognitive function. A small study demonstrated that humor therapy (watching a 20-minute humorous movie) led to improvements in cognitive function, including learning ability, delayed recall, and visual recognition
• Burn calories. It might not be as good as a fast walk, but the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reported that laughing for 10-15 minutes a day can burn approximately 40 calories. That could just be enough to make a healthy difference over the long term. In addition, intense laughter helps build muscle tone.
• Extend life expectancy. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.

Many medical professionals agree that nothing works faster or more dependably in offsetting the damaging effects of stress than a good belly laugh. Even better, it’s free medicine!

Scientists claim that young children may literally laugh hundreds of times a day. With age, however, life’s challenges become more serious so much of the laughter fades away. That means you need to make an effort to seek out opportunities to laugh. Look for humor in everyday life and, when possible, even in life’s setbacks.  Not only will finding more reasons to laugh possibly extend your life, but it will make you more likely to enjoy the life you have left.

Surround yourself with friends and family—it’s good medicine

Without a doubt, spending time with good friends and family is good for your health. They can help you celebrate all that’s good in your life and provide support to help you deal with everything that’s bad. They can give you a sense of belonging and purpose, improve your self-worth and encourage you to change or avoid unhealthy habits.

Although in-person interactions are best for realizing the full benefits of socialization, there are many technologies today that make it easier than ever to stay in touch with old friends and co-workers and reconnect with people you haven’t seen for a while.

New friendships can also be rewarding. Start by introducing yourself to your neighbors, if you haven’t already done so. Join clubs and senior centers in your neighborhood. Even if you’re limited physically, you might still enjoy a book club, a Bible study class, a chess club or a weekly poker game.

Try to also stay connected with younger generations. Spending time with small children can increase your activity level, make you laugh more, and help you stay connected with the world. In the process, you might also gain the satisfaction of being a positive role model to a little one.

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