Sally Dixey
Monday 9th December 2024
Given a room full of people, ask the question how does laughter leave you feeling, the room would be filled with cries of positivity and feel goodness.
Did that joyful feeling exist before you laughed or did laughter bring about that feeling?
If laughter creates a change in state of mind, do we need to be happy to laugh?
In fact, why wait to be happy if laughter can make us feel so good!
After all happiness is that elusive state of mind, we are all grasping for, once in our grip it seemingly slips between our fingers as we ride the roller coaster called life.
A closer examination of laughter reveals it’s one of humanities unsung superpowers.

Laughter existed before formal language, a part of social communication that bonded groups. It melts tension, defuses situations and breaks down language barriers.
Laughter has the power to unite as well as ostracise depending how it is used. Under the cloak of humour a joke can divide social groups, assist the prevailing social conditioning we have become accustomed to and act as a tool in power dynamics.
Have you ever heard a joke that crossed a line?
Maybe you didn’t feel comfortable enough to question the joke and I bet you still laughed anyway? It probably didn’t even give you the same buzz you get from a wholesome belly laugh!
Laughter has a lot of clout, more than just a form of communication; more than merely changing a state of mind. Its superpower goes beyond the superficial.
Research shows evidence of the awesome adaptation’s laughter can have on our physical and mental health beyond just feeling good.
Let me bore you with just a few;
Immunity boosts, increased oxygen levels, pain relief, lower blood pressure, brain neuroplasticity, greater motivation, clarity, positive hormonal release….
I could honestly go on and in a lot greater detail!
However, I think the connection with creativity and laughter is of most interest to you and here I will get a bit geeky so bear with me it is super interesting and really relevant!
Take the simple chicken crossing the road joke;
Why the chicken crossed the road according to;
Aristotle: To actualise it’s potential!
Neil Armstrong: One small step for chickenkind, one giant leap for poultry!
Sigmund Freud: The chicken was obviously female and interpreted the pole on which the crosswalk sign was mounted as phallic, and she was envious!
Not the funniest of jokes but my point is one joke many outcomes. And that is the beauty of laughter, humour and creativity.
The abstract nature of a joke taps into the very areas of the brain responsible for creative thinking. Understanding a joke, getting the punchline, uses the area of the brain (temporal lobe & inferior pre-frontal cortex) that handles abstract association and semantic connection. It is the part of the brain linking complex concepts and seeing relationships between unrelated ideas. All critical for creative thinking.
Once we have got the joke and we are laughing our emotional centre, the amygdala responds by relieving stress (cortisol) and fosters an open-minded state conducive with divergent thinking, another essential for creativity and thinking outside the box.
So, what’s the point of my rant on laughter?
We need to do it more and for the right reasons!
For our body, mind and soul!
Laughter is good on so many levels!
I want to encourage you next time you are feeling low seek something that makes you laugh. Find yourself in a pickle, see the funny side of the situation and relive some of your tension. Frustrated with writer’s block, take yourself out of the zone and laugh your head off till you find your inspiration again.
Don’t wait to be happy to laugh do it as often as you can and add it to your toolbox of superpowers!

Written by Sally Dixey; a person who spreads the message of laughter in lots of ways!
Find out how Sally can bring laughter into your world; gaiafitnesscollective@gmail.com
Sally Dixey
Monday 9th December 2024
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