When’s the last time that you laughed so hard, you cried? I mean, full-on ugly laughing with no abandon. Bonus points if you snorted.
How did you feel after? Did your stomach hurt? Was your body tingling? Did you feel fully present and in the moment? Did you feel at peace and relaxed?
Whether it’s because of a good meme, Ali Wong, or something crazy your dog just did, laughing feels incredible. But did you realize that a good laugh also helps you ward off chronic disease?
Matt LeBlanc, otherwise known as Joey from Friends, once said, “I believe that laughter is the best emotional Band-Aid in the world. It’s like nature’s Neosporin.”
I love this because he’s right. And the healing power of laughter goes even deeper than this!
Here are just 3 powerful ways that laughing can transform your health and your life…
Laughing keeps your heart healthy.
A lot of medical studies talk about the cardiovascular benefits of mirthful laughter.
When you find something to be humorous, it triggers mirthful laughter. (Believe it or not, there are several types of laughter triggered by different stimuli, with each producing different chemical reactions in your body.) Mirthful laughter releases a special group of endorphins which lead to the release of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide lowers vascular inflammation which is really good for your heart.
Plus, laughter has the physiological effect of lowering blood pressure!
Laughing helps your body fight off disease and infection
When your body gets infected by a virus or if a tumor begins to form, a complex biological immune response is triggered – but it can take up to 3 days to fully kick in.
But. Your body has a secret weapon called Natural Killer (NK) cells. (I’m not even kidding – that’s what we call the in the medical community!)
And laughter has been shown to kick up the power of these NK cells. That means laughing can increase your body’s natural resistance to disease.
Laughing rewrites your DNA
So I’ve written before about how the field of epigenetics can help you hack your DNA and optimize your health. <<link to your epigenetics article!>> It sounds too good to be true, but your daily lifestyle choices have been shown to impact your health at a genetic level.
Many of us were taught and led to believe that our genes make us who we are… but new research is showing us that our daily choices determine which genes are expressed.
Laughing is one activity that activates favorable gene expression… and when you change your DNA expression… the new imprint becomes a part of your reproductive system and gets passed onto your children and grandchildren.
There’s a reason it feels so good to laugh… it’s good FOR you. Plus… laughing even makes you seem sexier and more interesting. How’s that for a good reason to do something?
Your body’s natural state is one of health and joy.
To your health, 
Dr. Kien
PS — Follow me on Instagram for your daily dose of laughter!
PPS — My mission in life and as a doctor is to use humor and entertainment to rid the world of chronic disease. Because I know that joy really is the best medicine. And the best way to make the world a healthier, happier place is to share the most entertaining health advice that you’ll find anywhere. So don’t forget to subscribe for your daily dose of laughter!
