What happens to your body when you laugh?
The act of laughter requires the activation of muscle groups throughout the face and body — it’s why you can be doubled over. Meanwhile, the epiglottis, a flap of cartilage at the back of your throat that prevents you from literally inhaling your food, covers part of the opening to your windpipe. The way the air is forced out can sound very different — from loud guffaws to quiet snickers — but according to Provine, people actually tend to laugh with similar cadences. Each “ha” is about one-fifteenth of a second long, with about one-fifth of a second in between.
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Why do some people cry when they laugh?
It’s not because they’re sissies … well, sometimes it is. When you “laugh till you cry,” you’re yucking it up so violently that the lack of oxygen caused by the epiglottis blocking your windpipe activates your tear ducts. The same sort of thing would happen if you deprived yourself of oxygen by, say, covering your head in a plastic bag while masturbating. (Or so we’ve heard.)
NEXT: LAUGHING AT THINGS THAT AREN’T FUNNY
