A lot of people like the idea of attending a comedy show as an evening outing. You can plan to attend this form of entertainment with your spouse, a group of friends, or another couple. Laughing several times throughout the evening can be fun, but you might not necessarily realize the health benefits that you're receiving as a result of your frequent laughter. Laughing is healthy in several different ways, and while you might not visit a comedy theater strictly with your health in mind, it's nice to know that this outing can help your health. Here are some benefits that you'll get from laughing. 

Stress Relief

Many people face high levels of stress for all sorts of reasons, from challenges at work to struggles with family members. If you're stressed a lot more than you'd like to be, attending a comedy show can be a good thing to do. When you laugh, your body releases endorphins. Endorphins are often known as "feel-good hormones" because of their ability to make you feel better. You can visit a comedy theater feeling highly stressed from a challenging day, laugh a lot over the next hour or so, and then leave the theater with a much lower stress level. Lowering your overall stress, of course, is very good for your health.

Calories Burned

Laughing can be a surprising way to burn some extra calories. While this activity doesn't burn calories at the rate of standard exercise, it does result in a higher calorie burn than just sitting and not laughing. The number of calories that you burn during any activity varies according to multiple factors, including your weight. On average, however, laughing for 15 minutes can burn between 10 and 40 calories. If you laugh a lot during a comedy show and make a point of attending a few shows a month, you'll burn more calories over the course of the month than just sitting idly at home.

Pain Relief

Pain is detrimental to your health in many ways. When you're in pain, you may not be able to get up and exercise to improve your health. Additionally, pain can exacerbate mental health issues such as depression. There is evidence that laughing can help to lessen the pain that people experience when they suffer from chronic pain. If you're in chronic pain, you might appreciate how laughter can provide a level of pain relief without creating side effects, which is often the case with certain medications.

If you're interested in enjoying the various health benefits of laughing, visit your local comedy theater.