Ha-Ha-Ha
Ever laughed so hard your stomach started hurting, you started sweating, and you actually started crying? Yep, when the joke is just too good, your body can do some pretty weird things—and involuntarily, too. Laughing is generally good for you, though, so don't get too freaked out if these 20 bizarre bodily reactions happen!
1. Your Eyes Start Watering
Think you only cry when you're sad? Think again. In fact, you might be having the time of your life, hooting and hollering, but that can actually force tears out. The reason for this is that intense laughter can activate the muscles around your eyes, stimulating tear production. It's why the crying emoji is sometimes used in place of a laughing one!
2. You Can't Breathe
Ever laughed so hard that you felt like you couldn't breathe? Don't be alarmed—it's completely normal. Since your diaphragm and chest muscles repeatedly contract during bouts of sustained laughter, it disrupts your normal breathing rhythm. Some jokes could leave you gasping for air!
3. Your Stomach Starts Hurting
Your diaphragm and chest muscles aren't the only things putting in the work when you laugh too hard. If you ever wanted a good abs workout, laughing could actually do the trick: your abdominal muscles repeatedly contract during it.
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4. You Might Accidentally Pee a Little
As embarrassing as it sounds, laughing too hard can sometimes cause some not-so-convenient problems. After all, the pressure inside your abdomen from all those ha-ha-has can overwhelm the muscles responsible for controlling your bladder, and you might actually wet yourself a little. Hey, no one has to know...
5. Your Face Turns Bright Red
Considering you're probably gasping for air after getting the giggles, your face might turn red, too. And that's no surprise: when you laugh, changes in breathing, blood flow, and pressure can temporarily affect your complexion, making you look flushed.
6. Your Knees Feel Weak
Your stomach hurts, the tears won't stop, you've wet yourself a little—what could possibly be next? We'll tell you: you might have such a good time you actually need to sit down! Sometimes, the physical exertion you get from intense laughter can make your knees feel like noodles.
7. Your Voice Becomes Unrecognizable
Who's that person making that unattractive wheezing sound? Oh. That's you. When you laugh too hard for too long, you might even start squeaking, and that's all because the muscles controlling your breathing and vocal cords may behave differently.
8. You Snort
Not only are you squeaking and wheezing, but you might snort, too. This happens when bursts of air pass through your nose rather than only through your mouth, producing that, ahem, embarrassing nasal sound. It's okay, though—your friends won't mind, right?
9. Your Heart Starts Beating Faster
Laughing makes you happy, but all the pressure and muscle contractions involved could actually make your heart speed up while you're doing it. Again, no need to worry: once your giggles go away, your pulse should drop back to normal.
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10. You Might Start Feeling Dizzy
Sometimes, uncontrollable laughing can even leave you lightheaded, and that's all due to the rapid or irregular breathing. Changes in pressure within your chest may also be another trigger. If you feel dizzy even with light laughter, though, go get it checked!
11. Your Body Starts Convulsing
Another bizarre thing your body does when you're laughing too hard? You might start shaking. Those movements happen because your muscles are continually contracting throughout, which can affect your posture, making you look like you're trembling or convulsing.
12. You Suddenly Can't Speak
Remember how we said intense laughter affects your vocal cords? Well, to test it out, just try speaking! You'll probably fail miserably. After all, speech requires controlled breathing, but since you can't stop giggling, have fun trying to get the words out.
13. Your Cheeks Start Aching
Ever tried maintaining a smile for too long? Your cheeks probably ached afterwards, didn't they? That's no surprise: smiling and laughing use several facial muscles, so keeping them active can result in some lingering tightness around your mouth.
14. Your Nose Starts Running
Water, unfortunately, doesn't just come out of your eyes. For some, laugh too hard, and you might get a runny nose. All the tears that don't drain through your tear ducts can trickle into your nasal passages, so keep those tissues handy!
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15. You Might Develop a Headache
While laughter can help relieve stress, too much of it can trigger headaches. As unrelated as the two sounds, this happens because repeated exertion and temporary changes in pressure within your head can lead to lingering pain. If headaches after laughing are uncommon for you, though, chat with your doctor!
16. You Start Sweating
Yep, those lengthy laughing fits can even leave pit stains. Vigorous movement can activate several muscle groups, which requires physical effort! That said, the giggles can't replace a typical gym routine, so don't just rely on jokes for a good workout.
17. Your Hands Start Feeling Tingly
Not only will your body feel shaky, but the ha-ha-has can also make your hands feel tingly. Not everyone experiences this, but due to changes in breathing rhythm, carbon dioxide levels in the blood can drop, leading to that pins-and-needles feeling.
18. You Might Accidentally Pass Gas
Here's another embarrassing possibility: laughing raises pressure inside your abdomen, which can—oops—lead to toots. If your belly is already feeling gassy, even a semi-funny joke can be enough to cause an unexpected release from your behind.
19. Your Muscles Suddenly Feel Relaxed
Why is laughing good for you? Well, after repeated contractions, you might actually feel incredibly relaxed afterwards. That's because the muscles involved during these episodes tend to release their tension once the giggles have ceased. Neat, right?
20. You Could Actually Faint
Believe it or not, extremely intense laughter can even make you faint. Known as laughter-induced syncope, this rare phenomenon might be due to changes in chest pressure that temporarily reduce blood flow to the brain. Keyword is rare, though! If this ever happens to you, get it checked out.
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