A Guide to Giggles

When someone tells you a joke or does something funny, what kind of laugh should you use? That may sound like a dumb question, but it matters if you give a chortle or a cackle. Some people roar with laughter, while others smirk with smugness.

It’s funny, but there are many ways of laughing, and not all of them are about being happy. Laughter is a complex behavior, shared by other primates and some other intelligent, and apparently funny, species, including rats, some birds, and dolphins. It’s something we seem to do automatically, without much thought, but there is much more to the laugh than meets the eye.

I did the modern thing, and asked ChatGPT to give me different types of laughter, and here is the reply.

These are typically friendly, warm, or show genuine amusement:

1. Giggle – Light, happy laugh, often innocent or playful.

2. Chuckle – Mild, relaxed laugh, often a private reaction.

3. Chortle – Joyful and somewhat hearty, a mix of chuckle and snort.

4. Guffaw – Loud, hearty laugh that shows uninhibited joy.

5. Roar – An open, loud laugh showing something is very funny.

6. Howl – An intense, prolonged laugh due to deep amusement.

7. Peal – Clear, ringing laugh, suggesting lighthearted joy.

8. Belly Laugh – A full, hearty laugh involving the whole body, showing deep engagement.

These are often associated with ridicule, judgment, or nervousness:

1. Snicker – Quiet, sneaky laugh, often at someone else’s expense.

2. Snigger – Similar to snicker, with a slightly mean-spirited tone.

3. Cackle – Harsh, shrill laugh that can seem mocking or wicked.

4. Titter – Nervous or embarrassed laugh, showing discomfort.

5. Hoot – Loud, ridiculing laugh, often at another’s misfortune.

6. Smirk – A smug or self-satisfied chuckle, often condescending.

These can be either positive or negative, depending on the context:

1. Snort – Involves a sudden exhalation, often spontaneous and sometimes involuntary, used in both positive and awkward settings.

2. Laugh – The general term that encompasses all kinds of laughs, context-dependent in tone.

As you can see, we don’t just laugh when happy. Somehow, we learn how to snigger, or hoot, which is a mean-spirited laugh. For example, wicked witches usually laugh with a cackle, while good witches laugh with a giggle or chuckle. Which witch is good and which witch is bad can be told by which laugh they use.

This is helpful, since we are exposed to good and bad witches daily, figuratively speaking. So it’s important to know about different laughs, to distinguish between chortles and titters, guffaws and hoots, in order to know who is good and who is evil. If you hear a snicker from a friend when you want to be hearing a chortle, you may want to find a new friend.

Of course, there is more to laughter than just discovering the true feelings of the person laughing. Laughter is a complex physiological function, involving the brain, diaphragm, and face. When you laugh, the diaphragm contracts to make you breathe in, and then you exhale in steps. Each “Ha” of the “Ha, ha, ha” are short exhalations that stop abruptly, followed by further exhalations, until you need to take in another breath and do it again. What happens to your body when this happens?

Well, when you exhale with abrupt stops for each “Ha”, it increases your abdominal pressure. This causes blood pumping from the heart to have more resistance going down to your belly, which makes it go up to your head. You can feel this when you laugh and your head feels pressurized, while your face may turn red. Your eyes may even tear from the excess pressure in the tear glands.

In addition, there are endorphins released in the brain, which helps you feel happier and can reduce pain. There is also a stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system as you laugh, specifically the vagus nerve, which is attached to the diaphragm and gets a massage when you laugh. The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system, and is responsible for calming the heart rate and helping you relax.

The scientific question is whether one type of laugh is better than another for optimal relaxation and de-stressing. Is it better to howl, peal, or guffaw? And what about tittering and hooting? Does negative laughing have the same physiological impacts as positive laughing? Will a giggler feel the same benefit from laughter as a snickerer? I hope not.

We also need to ask if laughter is spontaneous, like a reflex, or something more considered, like a feeling arising from a thought. When you are told a joke, you may seem to laugh automatically, but you had to first understand the joke, which requires some thinking. Reflexes don’t require thinking.

This means that we mentally must first understand the joke to know whether we should giggle, or smirk. This makes laughing a learned behavior. It’s a nonverbal form of communication that tells others whether you find their joke amusing or ridiculous. Theoretically, you can change your mind and change your laughter, for example, going from a chuckle to a titter, or vice versa. You can even watch a person’s laugh change as they think about what you said, and finally realize its other implications.

To help you laugh your way through life, here are some tips:

1. Laughing is good for reducing stress, oxygenating the blood, and activating endorphins and the parasympathetic nervous system. Whether it’s a guffaw or a hoot, your body will benefit.

2. Try not laughing with food in your mouth. Spitting out hot coffee when you hear a joke is not funny. And you can choke on your food when you breathe in for the next laugh.

3. Try laughing only through your mouth. If you are the closed-mouth type and find something funny, you are apt to laugh out of your nose, which can have antisocial impacts, especially during cold and flu season.

4. Laugh more often, even at difficult stuff that may make you want to shout or cry. You will feel better. A maniacal laugh when you are upset is better than screaming, and is more socially amusing.

5. Laughter is contagious and makes people feel better, so if you want to make others feel good, laugh and they will laugh with you. Try that the next time you are stopped by a cop for speeding.

6. If you want to feel better, but there is nothing funny happening to laugh about, then laugh at nothing. Fake laughter, like a fake smile, can make you start to feel better. Fake it to make it. Of course, when others see you laughing by yourself, they may avoid you and think you’re crazy. If they do, then just turn your fake howl into a real hoot, and laugh them off.

There is lots more to say about laughter, but it’s not very funny. It’s like trying to explain a joke. Hopefully, you have a sense of humor, and can see the light side of things.

But even if you don’t, try laughing, anyway. Even if it doesn’t help you, it will be a source of amusement to others, who can use the laugh.