Can't find anything to laugh about? That's a pity, because according to a new study, laughter actually makes people happier.
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Our bodies and minds are closely linked. How we think affects how we feel.
That's the central tenet of an American meta study, in which scientists confirm what some of us may have already guessed: people with a smile on their face are happier. They found that our facial expressions — smiling and laughing, for example — can change the way we feel for the better, even if we don't think we have anything to laugh about.
Sometimes this is easier said than done. Personally, when I first encounter the swollen, crumpled version of myself in the mirror in the morning on my way to work, when I get stuck in what feels like the longest traffic jam in the world, and when I come home and realize that I've locked myself out, I usually struggle to find something to laugh about.
Kareen Seidler, research assistant at the German Institute for Humor (it really exists), says it's about our mindset. "If you look for humor, you'll find it," she told DW.
Seidler and her colleagues help those who struggle to see the funny side with coaching sessions at the institute.
Eva Ullmann, who studied medicine and pedagogy, founded the institute in Leipzig in 2005. It aims to teach people about how humor can be used in interpersonal communication — especially in their everyday professional life, says Seidler.
6 facts about laughter
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Come what may
Humor is the ability and willingness to react to certain things in a cheerful and relaxed way. Eva Ullmann's team at the Humor Institute is glad to help with the development of this ability. "Our goal is to make people's everyday lives smoother through humor," Seidler told DW.
"There are situations in which humor seems completely inappropriate," she says. Illness and death, for example. An article about the German Institute for Humor "Doctors and Humor" is certain about this — mixing humor and illness is not out of bounds. Quite the contrary.
It says that humor helps people who work in palliative care and are confronted with death on a daily basis from going mad. Humor can be used as "burnout prophylaxis" and a "cognitive antioxidant". It can also be a coping mechanism for people facing death.
If people still find the strength to be humorous and funny in the face of death, then we should succeed in doing so standing in the thickest of traffic jams, shouldn't we? "Positive reinterpretation" is the magic phrase Kareen Seidler uses here.
Laughing can be learned!
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A question of training
Whether I'm stuck in a traffic jam in the street or in the giant queue at the supermarket checkout, "positively reinterpreted," I'm experiencing an absolute deceleration. Faced with a locked apartment door (I'm standing outside, my keys are inside), I'm forced to attempt to open the door with my credit card. And to laugh.
Because the fact is, I can't escape corrosive situations even when I'm acting angry, like Rumpelstiltskin. "Humor makes a change of perspective possible," says Seidler.
But that's something that needs to be practiced. When starting out, reflection can help. It's easier to laugh at annoying situations in retrospect. But the stumbles we encounter in everyday life have a lot to offer. Seidler says we only have to open our eyes.
I spent some time with two friends looking for absurd surnames — on signs on the street, online, everywhere. Although it was years ago, I still have to laugh about "Dr Anxietyworm" today (if you're reading this, forgive me!). Such experiences train our "humor muscle," Seidler says.
This not only makes everyday life easier, but also makes us, as the study points out, a little happier.
Ten Ways to a Happier Life
Happiness is the engine of life. Happy People seem to live longer. Optimism and positive emotions protect us from cardiological disorders and heighten our resistance. Ten tips for a happier life.
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Connect with people!
Relationships are the most important overall contributor to happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for happiness.
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Do things for others!
Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good!
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Take care of your body!
Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more active each day. We can also boost our well-being by getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep!
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Have goals to look forward to!
Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them.
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Notice the world around!
Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. So we get more out of the day-to-day.
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Take a positive approach!
Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation - the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.
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Keep learning new things!
Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more.
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Find ways to bounce back!
All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our own attitude to what happens. In practice it's not always easy, but one of the most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many other life skills, can be learned.
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Be comfortable with who you are!
No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are.
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Be part of the big picture!
People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier. They also experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or doing a job. The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves. Source of all tips: www.actionforhappiness.org
