Laughter

I will say until my death that laughter is the single most important thing we as humans do, from a functional stand point, every single day. Sex is a close second but the chance of excessive procreation is something I don't have to worry about with a good cackle. There are so many situations and scenarios where truly, laughter is the best remedy. Sickness, tension, stress, social awkwardness, fear, sadness, and even deep depression. If humor isn't your thing, I highly suggest you re-evaluate your priorities. Here are a myriad of reasons why you, the up-tight bastard, are wrong.

In 2006 a group of Japanese Scientists were able to prove that humans begin to laugh as soon as 17 days after birth. After crying, laughing comes second in everyone and that fact makes sense. The image of the laughing and crying opera masks immediately come to my mind when I hear that fact. The two extremes must coincide each other in a timely fashion and our brains develop in a way that ensures this to continue, life to life, at a very basic level. We as human beings need laughter as much as we do our emotions because the function of laughter acts as a tool for so many things. Social interaction is one of them and maybe the most important for our early years. It's a way to gain trust and therefore a sign of acceptance. Being able to identify with others through laughter is a trait that is established very early on in life and only grows over time. This is best displayed in comedians who can control an entire room of people based on their ability to make them laugh.

Not only does laughter help in a social way, it has been proven that laughter is beneficial to your health. A study at The University of Maryland was able to prove that when people were shown comedy films that their arteries dilated wider and their blood pressure decreased. On top of that, when someone laughs, depending on their weight, one could burn anywhere from 10 to 40 calories. I am 200 lbs, so according to a chart I'm referencing, one sit up burns 13 calories. I could top that with a good gut laugh any day. Don't get me wrong, I do my sit ups, but it's a nice addition to the arsenal. Plus I'm lazy, so this is much better for me when you consider that 100 laughing spats every day equals a 10 minute workout. It even helps fight disease by increasing the bodies production of T-Cells which improve your immune system.

After that the last factor that I consider when giving laughter its real value is this: it allows us to enjoy life. Even things that we should not laugh at, we can still laugh about. It just down right helps us deal with things. Laughter is almost an alarm for absurdity. A device that detects universal things we all find amusing. It also allows us to help cope with more macabre subjects as well. I have seen so many instances of large groups of everyday people laughing hysterically at things like racism, death, violence, murder, rape, child molestation and the list goes on. The best comedians can make us laugh at the most horrifying things when presented correctly. We as people are able to make that distinction. It's a very rare thing in any creature to be able to laugh and I suggest that we should all harness its power more.