Why Is Laughter Contagious?

Have you ever wondered why laughter is so contagious? When one person laughs, it usually causes the next person to laugh, and so on and so forth. As the expression goes, "laugh and the whole world laughs with you!" Studies have shown that laughter is a bonding mechanism among people that dates as far back as early human existence, even before there was spoken language. The relationship between the brain and laughter is still not fully understood, but researchers do know that laughter seems to be produced via a circuit that runs through many regions of the brain. Thus, damaging any one of these regions can impair one's sense of humor.  When people hear laughing, the part of the brain known as the premotor cortical region is activated, which is the part of the brain that causes our facial muscles to react to sounds, and we being to smile. As the brains of many people can be stimulated this way at once, it fosters bonding. We are more likely as a species to bond in response to positive sounds rather than negative sounds. In fact, our brain's reaction to negative sounds like screeching is much lower than its reaction to positive sounds like laughter, so there is a much higher likelihood of bonding with another person over positive sounds like laughter. Before we had speech, laughter was a way to show another group or tribe that you meant no harm and wanted to be friends. It was and still is a very important social tool that builds bonds between people. In fact, one of the traits rated to be most attractive by women is a man that makes her laugh. Watch my latest video below to learn more about the power of laughter and how you can use laughter as a therapy to bring about positive changes in your life and health. It's pretty remarkable and it's available to everyone!

-Linda YouTips4U