Brain and Laughter

I do not understand why people say laughter is contagious. I rarely laugh; there’s nothing to laugh about. What other people think is funny I think is just silly. So? So, what? You have not honed your sense of humor and chosen to laugh? Other people are just silly? You rarely laugh? There is a burgeoning body of research on the myriad benefits of laughter. People who are judged to be very happy and who tend to be long-lived laugh a lot—from 100-400 times a day. There does seem to be a correlation between health, longevity, and laughter. You do have company, however. Studies have shown that adults need a minimum of 30 laughs per day. Unfortunately, adults in the US average only 15-20. Pitiful. Is laughter contagious? More tomorrow.