When listening to a joke, one of those that make us burst out laughing, a series of vowel sounds are produced in the mouth that last 1/16 seconds and repeat every 1/15 second. While sounds are emitted, air leaves the lungs at more than 100 km/h.
A laugh causes a quickening of the heart rate, a rise in blood pressure and a dilation of the pupils.
Adults laugh on average 20 times a day, and children up to ten times more. Laughter is such an inherent aspect of human existence that we forget how interesting these sudden bursts of joy are.
Why do people laugh when they hear a joke? According to the Hungarian writer Arthur Kostler (1905-1983), laughter is a reflection of luxury, which has no biological utility.
However Nature does not invest in something useless, it is believed that the impulse to laugh may have contributed to survival in the course of evolution.
The gelotology that researches on laughter, points out that this is the oldest form of communication.
The language centers are located in the more recent cortex, and laughter originates in an older part of the brain, responsible for emotions such as fear and joy. Which is why laughter escapes conscious control. You cannot have a good laugh at a command, much less repress it.
Laughter can have a physical, cognitive and emotional aspect. An event that does not reduce the sense of humor to a single region of the brain.
Laughing, finding something funny, is a complex process that requires several steps of thinking.
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By Patricia Lopes
Brazil School Team
Curiosities - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
LOPES, Patricia. "The Effectiveness of Laughter"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/a-eficacia-riso.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
