Laughter is Nature’s Tool That Helped Mankind To Survive, Study Claims

Over the decades, there have been a plethora of studies examining why people laugh and probing the evolutionary reasons for this human behavior, known to boost a variety of physiological, psychological, social and economic benefits.

Laughter may be the tool that nature gave to mankind to help it survive while traveling along the evolutionary path, claims a new study.

This feature of human behavior that precedes language development (infants as young as three months old are able to laugh) provides a host of physiological, psychological, social and economic benefits. Humor has always been a way of helping people to cope with stress and anxiety, boosting positive emotions while mitigating the “perceived intensity of negative life events”.

The research sifted various existing theories to find out what makes something funny enough to make people laugh. Carlo Valerio Bellieni, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Siena in Italy, analyzed more than 150 papers that identified various important aspects of the conditions that make humans laugh.

According to the study, 'Laughter: A signal of ceased alarm toward a perceived incongruity between life and stiffness', laughter was possibly preserved by natural selection over the millennia to help humans survive.

People laughing on the New York subway

© AP Photo

The professor examined theories of humor that provided significant information on three areas: the physical features of laughter, the brain centers related to producing laughter, and the health benefits of laughter.

By arranging all the theories into specific areas, the study condensed the actual process of laughter into three main steps: “bewilderment, resolution, and a potential all-clear signal.”

Laughter is described by Bellieni as a three-step process. First, the situation that seems “odd” may trigger a sense of incongruity. Second, the “stress” the incongruous situation that has been provoked must be overcome, or resolved. And, finally, the actual release of laughter acts as a signal to alert others bystanders that they are “safe".

Accordingly, the professor claimed, laughter could have been used by people for millennia to show others that a “fight or flight” response is not needed, as there is no “threat”.

Laughter is important for the physiology of a human body, Bellieni added.

Like shedding tears, laughter acts as a “release mechanism” for the body, as the brain centers that regulate this behavior are those which control emotions, fears and anxiety. Thus, laughter relieves tension and floods the body with relief.

This explains why humor has always been indispensable in hospital settings to help patients heal. Humor-induced laughter can also improve blood pressure and immunity. Laughter decreases the risk of any cardiovascular problems, strokes and heart attacks, since it is beneficial for the blood vessels. It affects the endothelium, a thin membrane that lines the blood vessels. When we laugh, our blood flow rises and blood pressure increases and this effect has been found to last 24 hours.