The Serious Benefits of Fun

In 1964, a man named Norman Cousins lay in a hospital bed, nearly paralyzed from his neck to his feet, in severe pain and feverish, as doctors gravely told him he had a life-threatening disease and very little chance of recovery.

A journalist and editor by profession, and lifelong optimist by nature, Cousins “relished the idea of bucking the odds,” which he did by developing his own recovery program, and in the process, finding something groundbreaking “…that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter [per day] had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep."

Cousins’ regimen included large doses of Vitamin C, humorous readings, Candid Camera reruns, and Marx Brothers movies. His struggle with that illness, and discovery of “laughter therapy” was detailed in his 1979 book, Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient, and in the decades since his diagnosis, a number of studies have proven the powerfully beneficial effects of laughter – not just for very sick people, but for everyone.

Laughter makes us healthier and happier. And thinner.

William O. Fry, a Stanford psychology professor who invented “gelotology” or the study of laughter, referred to it as ‘internal jogging’ for good reason: laughter has been found to have a similar effect as exercise on heart rate and heart-rate variability, and is a proven way to burn calories. Depending on a person’s weight and the intensity of the laughter, scientists estimate that 15 minutes of chuckling per day will burn 10 to 40 calories, which equates to 1 to 4 pounds per year.

There’s more: laughter enhances the immune system, reduces blood pressure, and relaxes muscles. A large Japanese study found that older adults who laughed every day were less likely to have heart disease than those who rarely or never laughed.

But as adults, we laugh a lot less…

Babies and children laugh easily and often – the average 4-year-old laughs as many as 300 times a day, while the average 40-year-old may only laugh a paltry 15 times per day.

A 2013 Gallup poll dubbed the dramatic decrease in smiling and laughter in adulthood the “humor cliff,” and researchers noted that it occurs at approximately age 23, around the time many people enter the workforce full-time.

…because we no longer value play.

We encourage children to indulge in dress-up, outdoor games, finger painting, and other fun pursuits because play has been blessed by our prevailing culture as the “work of childhood.”

But once we’ve graduated high school or college, no less serious tome than the Bible admonishes us to “put away childish things” as we join the adult world.

“We grow up, enter the workforce, and suddenly become ‘serious and important people,’ trading laughter for ties and pantsuits,” write Jennifer Aaker and Naoma Bagdonas, professors at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the authors of the book, Humor, Seriously. They continue: “Before long, we lose levity entirely in a sea of bottom lines, slide decks, and mind-numbing conference calls.” To rectify this, Aaker and Bagdonas developed a class that teaches Stanford students how to use humor as a competitive advantage in business, and life.

Julia Cameron, the revered creativity expert and author of The Artist’s Way, echoes this sentiment: “Our culture has a strong work ethic, but we have no play ethic.”

Cameron reports that when she asks students to forgo forty-five minutes of sleep each morning to write three long-hand journal pages, she finds little resistance to doing this work; but when she introduces the other signature requirement of her program, an “Artist Date” or two hours per week of unstructured play-time, it’s another story. Arms cross defiantly, she says, as students reject the idea that spending time simply having fun is worthwhile.

On top of that, for many of us, there’s the work of modern parenthood, which brings with it much purpose and meaning, but like the title of a bestselling book, not necessarily a ton of fun. In fact, parenting often includes taking responsibility for saying no to the messy, time-consuming games our children want to engage in.

We all know how to have fun…

My definition of fun might be different to yours, but we all know what causes spontaneous laughter and feels like the opposite of work: things like spending time with lighthearted friends; playing games of all sorts - from athletics to Charades, Bingo, and cards.

It could be karaoke, singing along to the radio in the car; dressing up at Halloween or an ugly sweater party. Or riding a bike, watching birds, or playing an instrument.

Or dancing the night away, skiing down a mountain, riding a rollercoaster, jumping into a pool or lake; or diving into the ocean.

It might be painting, or pottery, trivia night, or a comedy show.

…but sometimes we’re sold something else.

Have you noticed how many “self-care” practices - especially skincare routines - are truly hard, and expensive, work?

Many of us feel a responsibility (as adults!) to listen to or watch the news, which bombards us with a constant stream of disasters and global problems. No playfulness there!

And collectively, we’re watching less funny stuff on TV and at the movies.

Of the top 15 most-watched Netflix shows of all time, only one (Bridgerton) can even remotely be described as funny. And last year’s top 10 grossing movies in the US included only two comedies: Minions, The Rise of Gru, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2; both produced for children.

Your work will never be done. You have permission to play now!

Given our cultural reverence for work, allotting time for frivolous activities to our schedules may require some serious attention - and permission.

As adults, we prize efficiency and productivity for good reason: efficiency is how we make it through our busy days, but it can also cause us to feel stuck in an endless loop of chores and obligations.

And what makes getting through the tough parts of life more manageable?

The restorative, stress-reducing effects of laughter, fun, and play.

As Harvard psychology professor Natalie Dattilo puts it, “As adults…the idea that we would have fun, play, and make time for those things is often seen as a reward or something you have to earn or something you do when the work is done. But the work is never done.”

Need guidelines?

In The Joy Diet, Martha Beck prescribes "30 laughs per day” as a minimum requirement for adult happiness. To achieve this, seek out your merriest friends - or simply anyone: we are 30 more times likely to laugh with someone else than when we’re alone.

For another approach, Julia Cameron describes a once-weekly Artist Date this way: “The point of an Artist Date is enjoyment. A hearty dose of mischief characterizes the best dates. Do not be dutiful. Think mystery, not mastery. Think frivolity. Do not plan something you “should” do. Instead, plan something that perhaps you shouldn’t do. Ride a horse-drawn carriage. Enjoy the clip-clop of iron-shod hooves. Artist Dates need not be expensive. Some of the very best are free. It costs nothing to browse the shelves of a children’s bookstore. And the books found there are fascinating. All About Reptiles. All About Big Cats. All About Trains.”

So go forth, permission in hand, find something to laugh at, and enjoy the serious benefits of play!