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Why You Should Never Stop Laughing

"It can make others smile and feel happier. We are more likely to remember and want to be around people who cheer us up and make us laugh."

Hannah Matheson
Jun 20, 2016
University of Richmond
82
Why You Should Never Stop Laughing
Author's photo

Yesterday I watched a girl at a swim meet miss qualifying for Olympic Trials in the 400 meter freestyle. Every person watching thought she had it as she raced to the wall. She missed the qualifying time by .10. After her race, I saw her in the warm down pool crying. As I kept swimming past her, I noticed one of her teammates go console her. Within five minutes, the girl was laughing. Her teammate was picking her up in the pool and making her laugh to cheer her up. In just a matter of minutes, this distraught girl was glowing as she laughed with her teammate.

Witnessing this made me want to laugh too. I wanted to laugh because of how okay she was after laughing off her disappointment. I'm sure with some time she would have been okay if her teammate hadn't come to cheer her up. She would have realized that even though she didn't qualify, she still had an incredible swim and would always be an elite swimmer. But her teammate making her laugh is what made the difference. Laughter was exactly what she needed.

Laughter can be a cure for almost anything. According to statistics by the University of Kentucky, laughter is considered infectious. "It can make others smile and feel happier. We are more likely to remember and want to be around people who cheer us up and make us laugh."

There are also legitimate health benefits to laughter. Laughter has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce pain and stress, relax muscles and stimulate brain function. But laughing does more than just that. It strengthens bonds between us. People who can laugh together are going to become closer.

For me, laughter can cure any bad day. Laughter can stop my tears, or cause them because I laughed so hard. Laughing can sometimes make my cheeks sore, but the good kind of sore. And then there's making someone laugh. Knowing that I made someone's day a little better by making them laugh is one of my favorite feelings. If a friend is having a bad day, saying something silly or embarrassing myself to make them laugh is worth it every time.

So to that girl's teammate, keep making people laugh. Laughter is contagious and we can never laugh enough. If we all learned to take ourselves a little less seriously and laughed a little more, maybe we wouldn't get as stressed out as people often do. And to the girl who missed qualifying for Olympic Trials, never stop laughing.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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