The sound of laughter is an accepted and contagious universal language that plays an important role in human social interaction.
Our laughter is an honest signal of cooperative intent There is a link between laughter and mental health. The laughter stops distressing emotions. You can't feel anxious, angry, or sad when you're laughing.
1) Observers and participants distinguish between spontaneous or uncontrollable and volitional acting as a result of a decision to laugh,
2) Interestingly when laugh speed is increased duration decreased by 33 percent and pitch is held constant, all laughs are judged as more “real,” with judgment accuracy increasing for spontaneous laughter and decreasing for volitional laughter.
3) However, when the laughs were slowed down duration increased by 260 percent, and the pitch altered proportionally, participants could not distinguish spontaneous laughs from nonhuman vocalizations but could identify volitional laughs as human-made.
These findings and acoustic data suggest that spontaneous and volitional laughs are produced by different vocal systems and that spontaneous laughter might share features with nonhuman animal vocalizations that volitional laughter does not.
Regardless laughter translates to happiness and everyone everywhere prefers to embrace a happy individual.
Laughter enhances our intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates our heart, lungs, and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by the brain. Also, it relieves our stress response.
Relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes afterward.
Boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your disease resistance.
Triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
Burns calories. Okay, so it's no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn approximately 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over a year.
Lightens anger's heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.
Helps to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don't laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.