Why Do We Laugh? ft. Steven Suptic

TL;DR

Laughter is instinctual, helps with stress, and has health benefits like increasing pain tolerance.

Transcript

Hey there and welcome to Life Noggin. I’m Blocko and I am Steven Suptic! We’ve all heard the phrase “Laughter is the best medicine”, but why do we laugh in the first place? If we find that out, maybe we could get this world laughing even more… right after I get my own stand-up comedy special on Netflix. So, these things. What do they even do anyway... Read More

Key Insights

• 🙊 Laughter is instinctual, even exhibited by infants before they can speak.
• 😯 Study found laughter predates human speech, potentially by millions of years.
• 👥 Laughter may have evolved to help early humans navigate group dynamics and hierarchy.
• 🛩️ Only a small percentage of laughter episodes follow traditional joke-like situations.
• 👯 Laughter can help people cope with stress and make situations feel less threatening.
• 😄 Laughing can increase pain tolerance and improve blood flow similar to exercise or drugs.
• 🙈 People born blind or deaf can still exhibit laughter, showing its biological roots.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why do infants laugh before they can speak?

Infants laugh early on because laughter is instinctual, developing before speech abilities as a form of communication and expression.

Q: Can people who are deaf or blind still laugh?

Yes, studies have shown that individuals born blind or deaf can exhibit laughter, indicating that laughter is grounded in human biology.

Q: How can laughter help with stress?

Laughter can help people handle stress by making situations feel less threatening, providing a form of relief and emotional release.

Q: What are the health benefits of laughter?

Laughter has been found to increase pain tolerance, improve blood flow like exercise, and boost overall well-being through the release of endorphins.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Infants laugh before they can speak, showing laughter is instinctual.

• Laughter might have evolved to help early humans with communication and group dynamics.

• Study found laughter can increase pain tolerance and improve blood flow like exercise.