Suffering from any type of chronic pain is not an enjoyable part of life, yet over 100 million Americans are in this position. Finding the right treatment options for your chronic pain is important, but you might not realize there is one option you could do for free that may have a significant impact on the pain you feel. This activity is laughing, and here are two reasons laughing can help reduce the chronic pain you are suffering with.

Laughing improves the functions of the immune system

Your immune system can weaken from chronic pain and stress. When your body hurts, you may feel more stress, and after a while, these feelings can take a toll on your immune system. The problem is that when your immune system stops functioning at full capacity, you will become more prone to illnesses. As this happens, your pain level might naturally increase, because your body will not be able to fight the pain signals as well.

Laughing is something you can do to keep your immune system strong. When you laugh, your entire physiology of your body changes, and one change involves the cells in your immune system. These cells begin working harder, which causes an improvement in the way your body fights sickness and pain.

In addition, each time you laugh, your muscles will stretch and loosen up. Chronic pain causes muscles to tense up and tighten, which is why laughing is a great way to fight any type of pain you may have. Laughing also improves blood flow in your body, and this is useful because it helps send more oxygen to your body parts.

Laughing releases feel-good chemicals in your brain

The second positive effect laughing has on chronic pain is the effects it has on releasing chemicals in the brain. Laughing is a great way to encourage the brain to produce endorphins, which are natural pain killers. Endorphins affect the brain the same way as opioid drugs, yet they are completely harmless for your body.

Studies on this subject concluded that laughing is an effective way to treat pain. People with pain are able to withstand pain more if they laugh than people who do not laugh. In addition, the study also showed that laughing with other people has greater effects than laughing alone.

Chronic pain can be treated in many ways, but adding laughter to your treatment plan may be a beneficial step to take. To learn more about pain management, contact a local clinic like Pain Relief Center.