Laughter's Benefit in a Relationship

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." Victor Borge

You may have heard that laughter is the best medicine; maybe you've even heard that laughter has been linked to preventing heart disease in medical studies. But have you ever considered of the benefits laughter may be able to provide you in your relationship with your partner?

We laugh because we are amused. That amusement may come from ourselves: we may laugh at a mistake we make, thereby communicating our embarrassment and relaxed state with those who may have seen or heard our faux-pas. Or perhaps the humor comes from a joke, and our laughter communicates to those around us that we understand the joke's intent and message. Whatever the case, our laughter is a social communication, designed to bind two or more people together in a similar emotional state, as neuroscientist Robert Provine, PhD, has found in his own studies.

My husband and I have built a history of laughter in our relationship. Some of our laughs together have been more memorable than our nights together and that's not to say the latter is unmemorable by any stretch of the imagination. It is the power of laughter to create a lasting joy in our relationship; one that can overcome our most dour moods with a single word or phrase. We laugh at each other's jokes, but also at the memories of us being foolish, or silly, or even just adorable for the sake of the smiles it brings. Even the serious mistakes we have made along the way have become the subject of our mirth. Our laughter creates an intimacy purely our own.

The biggest benefit of all you may find when introducing laughter into your own relationship is stress relief. Whether laughing at a stressful situation, or laughing at something completely unrelated, laughter is a good way to say that a bad situation no longer has power over you. When you and your partner let go of the stress in your life by laughing together, you will find yourselves more at ease, enabling you to tackle challenges together with less fighting and more smiles.