Joking, laughing, goofing off extends life: Who knew?

JACKOLYN McCOY

April 04, 2008 at 9:26AM AKST

For The Arctic Sounder

Laughter brightens up one’s life. In fact, having fun can be the essence of living a long, healthy life.

The joy of fun comes in a number of forms including mental fun, physical fun and ever-evolving fun.

Some forms of fun are primarily physical, such as riding roller coasters, throwing snowballs and water balloons, playing outside in old clubhouses, hiking up a mountain, or tickling.

Physical fun often releases chemical endorphins in the body.

Laughter releases endorphins and other healthy hormones.

Endorphin, known as the "feel good" hormone, is the body’s natural pain medication. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines endorphins as "any group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system that causes an analgesic effect."

Research has shown that having a good laugh is an effective way of relieving stress and strengthening the immune system.

Having a good sense of humor and laughing even about our most serious problems can help us make it over life’s rough spots.

"(Laughter) focuses away from anger, stress, guilt, and negative emotions," wrote Elizabeth Scott on the website About.com, where she describes some of the many benefits of laughter.

"A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. It even provides a good workout for the heart."

Mental fun is the kind that gives the mind pleasure and enjoyment. For instance, telling jokes, watching the stars, spending time with friends, reading a book, and watching a favorite television show are all forms of mental fun.

Time seems to pass faster when we are having fun.

We are so absorbed in what we are doing that we do not worry about the time or very much else. Seemingly, time just flies because we do not worry about it.

We tend to block out the time when we are immersed in enjoyable things. We do not want good things to come to an end.

The left side of the brain conceptualizes time and words, and the right side conceptualizes patterns and dimensions, so when we are deep in a right-brain mode of thinking, we are having "fun" and lose our perception of time.

Time seems to drag more when we are not enjoying ourselves, often because the right side of the brain is not in use while the left side of the brain takes over and causes us to become more conscious of time passing.

We are generally more conscious over time than we realize.

Organizing time more efficiently can relieve a lot of stress and enable us to have more fun.

Our idea of what constitutes fun matures with age. For example, playing "peek-a-boo" with a baby can make a baby laugh but teenagers scowl.

Learning to have fun starts in infancy. Babies emulate their parents’ actions and learn family concepts of fun.

Fun is not a universally agreed-upon concept because people live in different environments.

In fact, one person’s idea of fun can be another’s unpleasant experience. For instance, one person might love sports while another finds them boring and more like hard work rather than like light fun.

As another example of different perceptions of fun, some may see teasing as a positive way to interact with others while getting to know one another better, but others may take teasing much more personally and consider it cruel and negative.

Fun is vital to life. One is having lots of it, wanting more of it, or wishing they could find a little bit of it.

Laughing and smiling are essential aspects of fun. Laughter can keep us healthy both physically and emotionally. Therefore, remember to have fun and laugh. It’s a great way to live a long, happy life.

Jackolyn "Jack" McCoy is a high school senior in Selawik with plans to be a full-time college student this fall. She wrote this piece in an honors English class distance-delivered by the University of Alaska’s Chukchi College in Kotzebue. This column is distributed by Chukchi News and Information Service, winner of a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the Public Service Award from The Alaska Press Club.