Why are people laughing? Why do people laugh.

I personally think that not everything should have some kind of explanation)) But laughter clearly has one. It is not that simple. I can only find information.

But in short, laughter relaxes a person, has a positive effect on the psyche.

Humor is a phenomenon caused by processes in the brain. Strange or paradoxical information enters the mind, but the left side of the brain cannot cope with it. Some kind of "short circuit" occurs, as a result of which, the left hemisphere transmits information to the right. Upon receiving this explosive package, the right hemisphere sends out an electric shock, neutralizing the left in order to gain time and find an individual, artistic interpretation of non-standard information. This instant stop of the activity of the constantly awake left hemisphere causes relaxation of the brain and the production of endorphin (a hormone that is also produced during sex ) . The more paradoxical the received information, the more "uncomfortable" it is, the stronger the release of endorphin "orders" the right hemisphere.

At the same time, a defense mechanism is activated that reduces the tension caused by "undigested" information, and the whole body is commanded to relax. The lungs expel air much faster, there is a sharp exhalation, the beginning of laughter as a physiological process. Exhalation causes a rhythmic contraction of the facial muscles, chest and abdomen. Then the muscles of the heart and other organs begin to contract. It is like an internal massage, relaxing the internal organs and sometimes the sphincters.

So, the brain cannot digest unexpected, unusual, paradoxical information and blocks itself. It starts to function in "error" mode. Turns off. This process is one of the most amazing sources of pleasure. The more a person laughs, the stronger his health. Laughter slows down aging and reduces the effects of stress.

well, not weirder

of this "Humor is a phenomenon caused by processes in the brain" or "Strange or paradoxical information enters the mind, ..". This is written somehow illiterate, especially when compared with the subsequent text in the spirit of scientific journalism.

Humor, of course, like everything that a person does, is a phenomenon as a result of brain processes, but this is not even a definition ... anything can be substituted there: speech, seizure, thought, sneeze ...

"Humor is the intellectual ability to notice their comical, funny sides in phenomena. A sense of humor is associated with the subject's ability to detect contradictions in the world around him." reports the almighty wiki.

The second sentence is just a bunch of secrets of the one who wrote it. Why strange and paradoxical information? I can’t call a joke or an anecdote strange or paradoxical information, it looks more like a description of a nervous reaction of a not quite healthy person. Although if his "information enters his mind" perhaps this is a normal reaction, because it is difficult to imagine a situation more terrible for mental health if a person from the outside, regardless of his consciousness, strange and paradoxical information flows directly into his mind, just like wagons, directly, into that the very point of reason, lurking in the brain, in order to burst into processes. And the further description is apparently what happens to the unfortunate.

Yes, that’s how much I signed about the first two lines, but just to hint that it’s possible to throw such an article without looking.

Comment

Who among us hasn't been the butt of ridicule at least once?

Most often, in such a situation, we feel uncomfortable, and sometimes, especially if this happens in childhood or adolescence, we get it for life. How to learn to experience ridicule painlessly?

To begin with, there are certain reasons why people laugh at each other. Suppose, in the company of teenagers, someone throws a replica of one of the girls: “Did you find this dress in the garbage?”. Someone else picks up: “No, she bought it at the sale “All for 10 rubles!”. Or something like that. And now the taunts sound from all sides ...

Recently, foreign psychologists found out that among children and adolescents, it is not the least popular individuals who are teased the most, but, on the contrary, those who stand out, for example, excellent students and child prodigies. Why? Because they draw attention to themselves. Often they are envied or not understood, and this is annoying ... If a child or youth is so positive, it makes his peers look for flaws in him. And, of course, they are found, because ideal people, and even more so children, do not exist.

They also tease those who are not able to fight back - say, the most timid and well-mannered. The suggestion can be absolutely anything. When I was a teenager, they teased those from whom their parents could not afford to buy imported clothes for their children. Now - those who have cheap mobile phones. But then again, mind you, it might not occur to anyone to laugh at the daughter of a lonely cleaning lady, barely making ends meet, despite the lack of decent clothes and gadgets. Because she, not burdened by upbringing, was able to “place herself” in the company of her peers. But the daughter of a divorced researcher runs the risk of becoming an “outcast” forever, because, due to the “correct” upbringing, she allows herself to be swaggered. A teenager who has something that others do not have - the best clothes, the best things ... In a word, any one, can also be ridiculed.

Besides, we willingly laugh at someone else, fearing that they would start laughing at us. As long as we participate in bullying someone, we are "protected". If we try to get away from this or protect the victim, then we ourselves can turn into an object of persecution. The logic is simple: it's better to be with the pack than to oppose it.

An object of ridicule can be at any age. For a woman, appearance is often a reason for ridicule: “Well, did you get your haircut again at an economy class hairdresser?”, “Do they give you a place in such a coat, like a pregnant woman?”, “Won’t you crush a chair with your weight?”. If some details of his personal life are known, they can also be used as a “tool”: “Well, did you take a bite again yesterday?” (meaning that the partner gave the lady a bruise), “And when is the wedding?” (knowing that there is no smell of a serious relationship here).

To get out of the situation with minimal psychological losses, you should learn how to properly respond to such attacks.

Primarily, try to analyze the situation and understand why you are being laughed at. Don't think that if you are being ridiculed, you are worse than those who do it. All people have some flaws. And your scoffers may have even more of them than you. Perhaps they laugh at you in order to stop feeling inferior ... Remember: a strong and successful person does not need to assert himself at the expense of others! It is always a sign of weakness and.

By no means make excuses. After all, they laugh at you, wanting to hurt you, and your excuses will only serve as an excuse to continue ridicule.

Don't show that you're offended. After all, the goal of scoffers is just to unsettle you and make you feel uncomfortable.

It is best to exaggerate the situation and laugh at yourself along with the mockers. For example, in response to a remark about clothes found in the garbage, it’s fun to say: “Yes, I rummaged through the garbage for a long time!”. In response to the question about the “fast wedding” - “As soon as we submit an application to the registry office, I will be the first to inform you!”.

Sometimes it does not hurt to hint at the mistakes of the mocker himself: “And you?”, “And what second-hand clothes do you dress in?”. Although this only works if the flaws are obvious.

If you don’t immediately find what to say, analyze the situation later, prepare a decent answer, and the next time they start mocking you, give out “homework”.

You shouldn't be rude at all. By this you will show that the goal of the offenders has been achieved and you are hurt.

If it’s just customary in your company to make fun of each other, then you shouldn’t take ridicule seriously at all. You can also tease others.

If the person who constantly mocks you, especially in public, is your close friend or partner (sometimes even husbands and wives are publicly ridiculed), then it makes sense to talk to him in private and explain that he hurts you with his behavior. Maybe he just doesn't realize it. If it turns out that a person is doing it deliberately, this is a reason to limit or end the relationship.

Such a simple and characteristic thing for all of us as laughter for scientists is still a mystery. And even more questions are raised by the fact that at the same unfamiliar joke, some people laugh until they drop, while others only shrug their shoulders in bewilderment. Why are people laughing? Let's try to answer this question.

What do we know about laughter

Humans are the only creatures on the planet that can laugh. And all scientists currently know about why we laugh is:

An adult laughs about 17 times a day;
During laughter, 80 facial muscles are involved;
A hearty laugh can burn 550 calories in half an hour, and one minute of laughter is equivalent to 10 minutes of fitness;
During laughter, blood pressure decreases, blood circulation improves, stress levels decrease;
Laughter releases endorphins and antidepressants, which brings people into a state of peace;
Laughter is one of the human responses to humor or tickling;
Laughter can be a sign of nervous tension or mental disorder;
Laughter is not an innate emotion, and it is not transmitted by genotype.

A special branch of psychiatry deals with the study of laughter, it is called gelotology. The scientific definition of laughter is as follows: a complex act that consists of modified breathing movements associated with certain facial expressions.

What is laughter

Laughter can be different, it can be natural, bold, pacifying, or it can be ingratiating, mocking, threatening, when we experience very strong emotions, “laughter through tears” may even arise. But if those who laugh, laughter still calms, then those who are laughed at can be upset and offended. We love jokes, but we don't like to be the object of them, and when it does, we sometimes sigh bitterly: Why am I being laughed at? People really laugh when they see clumsiness or weakness in another person. Therefore, when hearing loud laughter next to them, people with low self-esteem first of all believe that they are being laughed at. Why do they laugh in their sleep? Laughter is a natural reaction for us, but sometimes we suppress our emotions so much that they begin to manifest at the moment when we cease to control our mind, namely in a dream.

What causes laughter

In attempts to answer the question of the century, what exactly causes laughter, why small children smile, why girls laugh, where does the sense of funny come from, scientists spend years. And the exact answer has not yet been found. Laughter expert Robert Provine spent hours recording people's conversations, trying to figure out what made them laugh. And he revealed only general patterns - laughter was a reaction to a funny joke, to an unexpected resolution of the situation, and sometimes it simply arose for no reason. But one thing is known for sure, laughter is inherent in all people from birth, not as a mental, but as a physiological feature. Even deaf-mute people who have never heard laughter in their lives laugh. Perhaps laughter is our tool for social interaction. After all, good laughter unites, makes people easier and closer, but it can also quarrel if people laugh at each other, and always, without exception, attracts the attention of people of the opposite sex.

Why are we laughing? How is laughter born? Can it be controlled? We asked MD, Professor of the Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Medical Genetics, Faculty of Pediatrics, Russian National Research Medical University. N. I. Pirogov Khondrakyan Garegin to answer these questions.

Laughter is a physiological feature inherent in every person from the moment of his birth. This is one of our distinguishing features. Laughter is an indicator of positive emotions, a symptom of good mood. The mechanism of laughter is triggered not only by a joke heard or the realization that the situation is funny, but also by the desire to get closer to a person or show that we understand each other and we are pleased with the interlocutor. Laughter is a universal way of communication that is understandable to everyone and does not have a speech barrier.

What happens in the brain when we laugh

From the point of view of physiology, laughter is a motor act that involves contraction of the diaphragm and is accompanied by the work of a vocal phenomenon (vocalization). Laughter is localized in the trunk (otherwise - in the bridge) of the brain. The organization of laughter involves the cerebellum, which coordinates any movement of a person, the midbrain and such a complex structure of the brain as the hypothalamus (regulates the neuroendocrine activity of the brain and homeostasis of the body). The hypothalamus is connected by nerve pathways to the entire central nervous system. The command to laugh is formed in the cerebral cortex - with the participation of the frontal and temporal lobes. The temporal lobe is responsible for instinctive behavior, for recognition. Thus, we can conclude: the physiology of laughter is a simultaneous inseparable coordinated work of the entire brain, which cannot be divided.

Laughter is directly controlled by emotions, their modulation. The limbic system (from lat. limbus- “border, edge”) is responsible for instinctive behavior and for our level of mood, it is localized in the temporal lobe. The mechanism responsible for emotions is scattered throughout the brain: partly in the cortex, partly in the temporal lobe. Emotions or instinctive behavior have been passed down to us from the animal world. Memories that are emotionally charged are remembered the best - so we can have a laugh in private by recalling them with the help of memory.

Why does laughter happen through tears

A phenomenon close to laughter is crying. So, the baby at the initial stage of his life cries easily and laughs easily. The rapid triggering of these similar mechanisms in a child can easily be explained by an immature brainstem system that is poorly controlled by the cerebral cortex. With strong laughter, there is a great activity of this zone, the structure of tears lying next to it is affected, and in this case, the lacrimal canal opens through the large stony nerve. Therefore, it is quite physiological to laugh and cry at the same time. Convulsive vocal movements are also similar: laughter has laughter, crying has sobs.

When we realize we need to stop laughing

The most important role is played by the brake mechanism, which gives a command about the appropriateness of laughter and keeps it under control. When we understand humor or a joke, the brain gives the command to laugh, but at the same time it can slow down this laughter. Damage in any part of the brain gives an instant failure in the mechanism of inhibition. Then there is inappropriate laughter - violent. Disinhibition of reflexes causes violent (pathological) laughter, for example, with damage to the cerebellum (stroke). It is worth noting that with age we laugh less - as in any mechanical act, year after year, the braking system works more and more. This pattern concerns not only laughter. For example, in the prime of life, we move a lot, the body performs a lot of movements, even if they are not required, but an elderly person spends his strength economically and accurately.

Why do we laugh when others laugh

Often we see the mechanism of contagious laughter, in which a group of people laughs, but each individual person cannot understand what the humor is. In this case, the so-called induction behavior of the crowd is triggered, which activates the systems of the brain responsible for laughter.

Do we enjoy laughter? No, we get pleasure from a joke, from humor, from an absurd situation that raise our mood. Actually, high spirits is pleasure.

Low mood (dysthymia) or a state of mild depression is a feature of a particular person associated with a personality type. It can accompany him through life without connection with the environment and for obvious reasons.

One of the first skills that a newborn child acquires is not speech or control of his body at all. The first thing a child learns to do is smile. However, with the advent of ultrasound examination of the highest degree of penetration, in other words, with high image quality, information arose that this is generally an innate skill. Some babies manage to smile while still in utero. But why are people laughing?

Curious facts

There is no need to talk much about laughter, because everyone, without exception, fakes it sometimes. In other words, we all laugh from time to time. According to statistics, an adult smiles every day up to laughter about 17 times a day. Of course, the more often, the better, because the fact that laughter is useful is known to almost everyone.

In a laughing person, the level of adrenaline in the blood decreases, the pleasure hormones endorphins are produced, and about 550 kilocalories are burned every minute. A similar expense occurs in 1 minute of active sports. By the way, man is the only creature on earth that expresses emotions in this way. However, domesticated animals can repeat this. It is known that you can teach a dog or a horse to laugh.

Reasons for laughter

The physiological nature of laughter has not yet been established. On this account, one remains to be tormented by conjectures. But psychologically and psychically scientists and physicians came to the conclusion that this is the reaction of our consciousness with you to something that differs sharply from the picture of the world that we have formed in our minds. In other words, this is how our consciousness reacts to what supposedly cannot be, but which does not cause fear. Every person has their own special sense of humor. There is the so-called "black humor", there is just fun, there is even professional humor. All this depends on the mindset of a person, as well as on the knowledge he has acquired about the outside world. It often happens that something makes one person laugh and at the same time absolutely does not amuse another. Everyone perceives facts differently. If, for example, one person finds a fact that simply does not fit into the overall situation, this fact will amuse him. But, someone else, the possibility of such events fully admits, therefore, they will not laugh, respectively.

People, as quirky creatures, have learned to use laughter for other purposes. Thus, mocking laughter, ridicule appeared. Moreover, there is also nervous laughter, as a result of exposure to a person of some kind of stress factor. These are no longer congenital, but acquired variations. People with low self-esteem make fun of others, therefore, it is not necessary to particularly spread about the reasons for such laughter. Nervous laughter is also understandable, because as soon as a person is emotionally not well, his subconscious mind is looking for how to fix it. And at the level of reflexes, it has already been worked out that laughter is good. So it turns out that a person, without realizing it, laughs in order to stop being nervous and relieve tension.

Another acquired option is hysterical laughter. Here the picture is about the same as with nervous laughter, only now the emotions of such a person are already out of control, and he is not able to stop. To stop such laughter is possible only by stopping the hysteria.

Sometimes people laugh even in their sleep. This fact also testifies in favor of the fact that laughter is one of the emotions that comes from the subconscious and is often not controlled by the consciousness itself.