IN THE ENGLISH LESSON
Why is laughter important?
Have you ever wondered why people laugh?
This question has puzzled scientists for years and great discoveries have been made. As with many biology topics, this question should be approached from an evolutionary perspective. As Charles Darwin stated, every species on earth originated as a result of countless random mutations that occurred over a course of several million years. Through the mechanism of natural selection, the organisms with helpful characteristics survive more often, reproduce more and establish their genes in the gene pool, while others slowly disappear. But at which point did laughter emerge, why was it helpful to be established through natural selection and how can it improve our health today?
Scientists believe that human laughter originated 10 to 16 million years ago. In fact, we are not the only species that express laughter. Apes, rats and at least 63 other species do have similar behaviors. According to a group of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences led by Gregory Bryant, laughter is some sort of early communication method that evolved way before human speech and was used to express a friendly attitude. In fact, we can even distinguish a real laughter from a fake one, helping us identify deceivers. This form of early communication was crucial for our early ancestors, as it helped them quickly identify friendly“ persons”, form deep bonds and cooperate in groups. This cooperation is something that helped survival and thus was favored by natural selection. In fact, the social nature of laughter expresses why we laugh 30 times more frequently when we are with others than alone.
Beyond its social function, laughter is also believed to improve our overall health and the way we handle stressful situations. A study from Norway found out that laughter can actually help people live longer, having exceptional results for those fighting cancer. In principle, laughter causes our brain to release endorphins, a special kind of hormones that relieves pain and provides a sense of wellbeing. But most importantly, they relieve our everyday stress.
It might sound cliché, but stress and anxiety can actually kill you. When someone is in stress or fears of something, their body automatically enters a fight – or – flight mode. The hypothalamus, a part of your brain, send a
IN THE ENGLISH LESSON
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