“Nothing to me feels as good as laugh-
ing incredibly hard.” 
 

- Steve Carrell
I

n my Notes App, I have a list 
titled “Laughing.” I created 
the page my senior year of 

high school as running documenta-
tion of the things that make me dou-
ble over, gasp for breath and cry el-
ephant tears of laughter. My list is a 
gift that keeps on giving: a reminder 
of all the times I’ve experienced the 
purest form of joy, felt that glori-
ous pain in my abdominals and lost 
all sense of reality beyond whatever 
particular situation struck me funny. 
When I’m down, or even just in the 
mood for a chuckle, I open the app 
and peruse through my humorous 
peaks of life.

The other day, while my friends 

sat on the couch in our apartment, I 
scrolled through my list and landed 
on one to narrate. 

“Oh yeah, that time in Denny’s!” 

I exclaimed. This was a gem of a 
story that I’d since forgotten. “That 
was one hundred percent the hard-
est time I’ve ever laughed,” I told my 
friends. I say that about most things 
on my list, but that time in Denny’s 
— the 24-hour diner chain with a 
unique array of breakfast, seafood 
and American dishes, none of which 
are completely mastered — is defi-
nitely a top two moment. 

I was there one night around 1 a.m. 

with a few of my friends after a high 
school football game. The specials 
menu was already at our table, sport-
ing Denny’s most recent and fresh 
additions. The cover image, a plat-
ter of chocolate spheres of dough, 
captured our attention. We oohed 
and aahed. Chocolate chips melted 
within gourmet pastries with choco-
late sauces intricately drizzled atop 
them. “Choco Puppies,” the menu 
read. Sold. 

“We’ll have the Choco Puppies, 

please,” I told the waitress while or-
dering. 

Upon their arrival, silence de-

scended upon our table. In front of us 
sat two minuscule, crusted and cold 
chunks of what looked like literal fe-
cal matter. A singular line of dried-
up chocolate sauce graced a fraction 
of the right chunk. We couldn’t con-
tain ourselves after looking at the 
Choco Puppies, the menu and then 
each other. Our laughter erupted 
throughout the restaurant. Sprawled 
out over the booth at Denny’s, we 
gasped for air, held our stomachs 
and pounded the table. 

Back on my apartment’s couch, my 

friends and I laughed as well. “Tell 
another!” they said. Ah, laughter: the 
gift that keeps on giving. 

***
Above all else, laughter heals my 

spirit every time without fail. It’s 
the medicine of all medicines, pick 
me up of all pick me ups, a remedy 
for my soul more effective than any 
meditation, yoga class or prayer. It’s 
there on the darkest days and ever-
present on the brightest. It’s free and 
it’s easy and it never ever runs out. I 
feed my soul by laughing. Due to my 
love for the activity, I think I laugh 
more than the average person. Like 
fresh juice from an orange, I’m keen 

to squeeze the humor out of any situ-
ation.

But why does this simple action 

heal my spirit and give me a dose of 
euphoria that can’t be found any-
where else?

According to University of Michi-

gan professor Nansook Park, an ex-
pert in positive psychology, there’s a 
definite scientific explanation as to 
why laughing feels so good. 

“When we laugh, physically, it de-

creases the stress hormone, corti-
sol,” Park said. “Laughing out loud 
protects our hearts and relaxes our 
muscles by increasing blood flow. 
Also, it triggers the release of endor-
phins, natural feel-good chemicals, 
which reduce pain and boost our 
mood.” 

In an email interview with The 

Daily, Dina Gohar, another U-M 
professor in the field of positive 
psychology, explained it this way: 
“Laughing forces air out of the lungs 
and causes us to take deep inward 
breaths, which increases the flow 
of oxygen in the body and helps ac-
tivate the parasympathetic nervous 
system,” she wrote. 

Gohar also discussed substantial 

proof of laughter’s long-term health 
benefits. 

“Laughter’s ability to counteract 

the negative effects of stress may be 
why those who laugh more may also 
live longer and experience fewer 
heart attacks as well as less sickness 
since they enjoy better immunity,” 
she explained. “A 2016 15-year Nor-
wegian study found that women with 
strong senses of humor lived longer 
than others. In fact, they were 73% 
less likely to die from heart disease 

and 83% less likely to die from infec-
tion.” 

So that deep belly laugh actually is 

powerful medicine.

Both professors also emphasized 

how laughter promotes social bond-
ing. “Laughter is a social emotion, 
and research suggests we’re about 30 
times more likely to laugh in the pres-
ence of other people, especially those 
we are close with and like than when 
we’re alone,” Dr. Gohar said. Professor 
Park had similar ideas. 

“When we feel good, we are more 

willing to open our hearts and broaden 
our perspectives,” Park said. “When 
we laugh together it’s even better. It 
brings people and teams closer and 
strengthens the bonds between people 
through shared positive experience.” 

It seems that laughter is also a so-

cial tool, as it makes us feel connect-
ed to those around us. 
P

ersonally, I believe the crux of 
laughter’s beauty is its ability 
to brighten any situation, no 

matter how dire, depressing or up-
setting. In fact, I think finding hu-
mor in the depressing, attempting 
to make light of the grim, is essen-
tial for making it through the lows of 
life. In the saddest of situations, just 
the stringing together of a couple of 
witty words can make someone laugh 
and smile as well as lift their spirits. 
For example, a solid joke from my 
roommate about the salmon I burnt 
in the air fryer makes up for the fact 
that we’re completely out of luck 
for dinner. As Dr. Gohar explained, 
“The ability to laugh, whether at life 
itself, yourself, or a good joke, is a 
source of life satisfaction and resil-
ience. Substantial evidence exists for 

the effectiveness of humor as a cop-
ing mechanism. Studies involving 
combat veterans (Hendin & Haas, 
1984), cancer patients (Carver, 1993) 
and surgical patients (Culver et al., 
2002) have found that when humor 
is used to reduce the threatening na-
ture of stressful situations, it is asso-
ciated with resilience and the capac-
ity to tolerate stress (Martin, 2003).”

This information is certainly ap-

plicable to this year, which has been 
notoriously difficult and dishearten-
ing. Nothing is certain or reliable, 
due both to the current political cli-
mate and implications of the pan-
demic. For me, and almost all other 
students, the college experience I’ve 
longed for is completely out of the 
picture. With life as we currently 
know it, we can’t go to classes and 
form relationships with our peers 
and professors. 

Our basketball team is dominating, 

yet we must watch from our sepa-
rate television screens instead of to-
gether in the stands of Crisler Arena. 
A majority of freshmen aren’t in the 
residence halls: We’re spread out 
throughout Ann Arbor or at home, 
navigating our first winter without 
the community and support we prob-
ably need. And as for coping, options 
are limited. Yoga and pilates classes 
are few and far between, mostly on 
screens like everything else. The 
gyms have spiratically been open due 
to county lockdowns, and many in-
person group religious services are 
not happening. It’s difficult to gather 
or connect with others, and for many, 
virtual therapy or counseling can 
present unique challenges. 

It seems that the best medicine 

that’s reliably available right now is 
laughter. In fact, sitcoms like “The 
Office” and “Friends” have skyrock-
eted in popularity. I personally try to 
find a laugh wherever I can. I laugh 
as my friends and I dissect our prior 
nights, I laugh as we relay the bizarre 
events of our Zooms and breakout 
rooms. I laugh at our meal that was 
left at the very end of the driveway 
by the delivery man, cackle about 
the time I tumbled down the stairs 
in front of incoming guests, chuckle 
every time I open my refrigerator to 
the old soup that’s been sitting in its 
Tupperware since my roommates ate 
it in January. We laugh together as we 
analyze life, people and all that we’re 
experiencing, as well as a story from 
my list from time to time. 

Whether it’s the large laughs from 

infamous stories like the Choco Pup-
pies fiasco, or the smaller laughs from 
comments, witty remarks and snow-
balling convos where each addition 
to the discussion adds a new level of 
hysteria, they all come together to 
make my days here more cheerful and 
the current circumstances bearable. 
While this pandemic has prevented 
me from continuing to do a lot of the 
activities I normally do, I’m certainly 
continuing to add to my “Laughing” 
list. I aim for that deep belly laugh, 
that medicine of all medicines and 
joy of all joys. 

Maybe one day soon I’ll secure one 

of those limited spots for a yoga class. 
But for now, I’ll tend to my spirit on 
my couch, with the help of my friends 
and a large dose of laughter.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
statement

A spoonful

BY LILLY DICKMAN, STATEMENT COLUMNIST

ILLUSTRATION BY EILEEN KELLY 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 — 13

 of laughter

