Cannabis and the Benefits of Laughing

Good news goofy, giggly cannabis consumers! Laughing is an advantageous phenomenon.

While scientific research has provided some theories, the exact physical and psychological reasons have not been fully elucidated. [1] Laughter is a social ice-breaker. If you can make someone laugh, it’ll be easier to forge a connection. Physically, laughter affects multiple stress hormones, including cortisol and epinephrine.

Here’s what that has to do with cannabis.

Cannabis and Laughter

Gelotology—or, the study of laughter—tells us that the frontal lobe, the social emotional response center, sits in the middle of the neural circuitry responsible for producing laughter. Researchers believe that one of the reasons THC makes you laugh is because past studies demonstrated that cannabis stimulates blood flow to your brain, specifically the right frontal and left temporal lobes. [2]

Consuming cannabis can also make it easier to laugh. The right cultivar can make the worries and anxieties gripping your mind melt away. It’s hard to giggle if you’re thinking about next week’s rent payment or the despair of confronting which politician tweeted what about whom.

The health benefits associated with laughter are immediate and long-term. Reduced stress hormones make you feel more relaxed. If you consistently reduce your stress this way, your entire body may feel healthier.

Start Laughing

As experienced cannabis users will attest, something doesn’t have to actually be funny for you to laugh at it when you’re intoxicated. You can find yourself cracking up over a joke or an idea that wouldn’t have earned a smile in your normal state of mind.

This means you can get all the health benefits without actually having to be funny. Being Kevin Hart is awesome. But when you’re high, Larry the accountant also has some good jokes.

If you’re prone to deep, meditative cannabis sessions, try being more social. Smoke with your friends. It’s much harder to be stuck in your own head when life is pulsing around you.

References:

1. Savage, Brandon M., et al. “Humor, Laughter, Learning, and Health! A Brief Review”. Advances in Physiology Education. 2017; 41(3): 341–347. [journal impact factor = 1.981; cited by 17]
2. Sneider, Jennifer T., et al. “Altered Regional Blood Volume in Chronic Cannabis Smokers”. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2006; 14(4): 422–428. [journal impact factor = 2.354; cited by 33]

Image source: Life Health