Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Laughter is the best medicine

The scientific definition of laughing is a “successive, rhythmic, spasmodic expiration with open glottis and vibration of the vocal cords.” That doesn’t begin to tell the story of what laughing does for us. The bottom line is that laughing is medically beneficial.

Laughter restores a positive emotional climate and a sense of connection between two people. Some researchers believe that the major function of laughter is to bring people together — the more social a person is, the more social support a person receives. Laughter corresponds to social connection. Mutual laughter and play are an esse...