L is for Laughter

I’ve never really thought about types of laughter.  Not until this challenge came up and I was thinking of the perfect L word.

Here are a few different types of laughter I recently read about:

Etiquette laughter – laugh along with your boss or co workers and you score brownie points. It doesn’t even have to be funny!

Contagious laughter – Laughter spreads easily.  Much like a yawn. Uncontrolled laughter, though, can lead to mass hysteria, so be careful!

Nervous laughter –  It’s usually an attempt to reduce stress and calm down or when one is trying to stay in control. Apparently, it’s not a good idea to laugh nervously, since it is considered fake. In 1909, an article in the New York times suggested spanking young girls to break them of this habit. That’s nothing to laugh about!

Belly laughter – my favorite. I  think it actually has healing properties. It does for me.  This is considered the most honest type of laughter but often the hardest to experience. One must find something that is truly belly-laugh-worthy. No faking here.  Grunts and snorts (men) and giggles and chuckles (women) often accompany a belly laugh. I believe women grunt and snort, too, though. And sometimes men giggle, which increases the belly laughing!  I find that one can’t determine in advance what will cause a belly laugh. Sometimes it’s just an exchange of knowing glances over some very ordinary event which can lead to two people belly laughing together. My sister and I are experts at that. Anytime we get together, well, if we didn’t belly laugh, we’d wonder if one of us was ill!

Silent laughter – this one seems to have some of the same healthful benefits of as belly laughing. I guess you could call it intentional laughter because it is not the least bit spontaneous.  Laughter yoga and laughter therapy teaches silent laughter. I’d have a hard time with this activity. I’d probably burst out laughing and, well, it wouldn’t be silent laughter for long.

Canned laughter – the laugh track. The most annoying laughter ever. This should be banned. Interestingly, some of the more popular sitcoms , like The Office, do not use canned laughter.

Cruel laughter – Laughter at the expense of another, for the purpose of being mean. This one should be illegal. It’s recorded in history, so it’s obviously a hard habit to break. We are all fallible, it seems.

Stress-relieving laughter – usually an outburst that helps soothe, calm and relax tight muscles. I’d say this one is very important and should be experienced at least once per day! It’s a close (but less extroverted) cousin to belly laughter.

PIgeon laughter. -Yes, pigeon laughter. This is laughing without opening your mouth, causing you to produce a humming sound, much like the sound – you guessed it – pigeons make. One often does this when something unfortunate (but not life-threatening) happens to someone. Sometimes you just can’t help yourself.

Snorting laughter – for those talented people who laugh through their nose. I’m guessing other laughters could morph into this. Be sure to step away from a snorter, just to be safe.

Do you laugh much?