Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine

A viral video online is proving something scientists, toddlers, and guys who laugh at their own farts have known for years: laughing actually makes you feel better.

The clip features a “Laughter Yoga” session created from a practice started in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria. In the video, an instructor gets a guy to repeatedly go “Ha-Ha… Ha-Ha…” like a malfunctioning robot. At first, it looks painfully awkward. Then, suddenly, both people completely lose it laughing.

And somehow…you start laughing too.

That’s because your brain is apparently pretty easy to fool. Experts say your body responds to fake laughter almost the same way it responds to real laughter. So even if you start with a forced “ha,” your body still begins releasing feel-good chemicals like endorphins and dopamine while lowering stress hormones like cortisol.

Basically, your nervous system hears laughter and goes, “Well, I guess we’re having a better day now.”

The health benefits can include lower stress, improved mood, better circulation, relaxed muscles, and even temporary pain relief. It’s like giving your brain a factory reset without having to unplug the router.

Part of what makes the video funny is how fast the fake laughing turns real. One minute it feels like a weird team-building exercise at work. Thirty seconds later, people are snorting and wheezing like they just heard the world’s dumbest joke at 2 a.m.

Which, honestly, may be the secret. Humans are weird. Sometimes your brain just needs a jump-start from a grown adult aggressively yelling “HA-HA” in your face.

Laughter really is the best medicine. Hope this made your day a little bit better!

Doug O’Brien