{"id":688584,"date":"2026-07-13T02:53:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T02:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/688584\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T02:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T02:53:31","slug":"aging-its-funnier-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/688584\/","title":{"rendered":"Aging? It’s Funnier Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember Sally Field in Steel Magnolias when she hands a stranger a piece of cake at a funeral and deadpans, “Laughter<\/a> through tears is my favorite emotion<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

It’s what one might define as a throwaway line, but it’s one that stays with you simply because it captures something I believe is genuinely true: a sense of humor<\/a> may be one of the most underrated tools in the aging toolkit.<\/p>\n

Don’t take my word for it, though. There is research to back me up.<\/p>\n

A 15-year follow-up of Norway’s Tr\u00f8ndelag Health Study found that sense of humor is significantly connected to lower mortality rates, with researchers describing it as a “health-protecting cognitive coping resource.” Then there’s the Mayo Clinic study of more than 14,000 older adults, where it was noted that people who laughed less were more likely to develop functional disabilities. A 2024 systematic review published in the National Institutes of Health’s research archive also found that across 16 studies, humor was consistently associated with reduced psychological stress<\/a>, improved well-being, and in some cases even a lower mortality risk.<\/p>\n

Okay. So research has limits. Most of these studies show association, not causation, and the authors themselves admit more long-term work is needed. But so far the evidence is pretty consistent. A surprise? Not really.<\/p>\n

The thing that does surprise me, however, is the finding that the benefits of humor appear to be particularly strong for women. Those of us with a strong sense of humor were associated with a longer lifespan, with cognitive benefits extending well into our 80s. It’s just that no one tells you about it when you turn 60, right when some body parts stop behaving like they used to and foreign sounds escape you at the oddest times.<\/p>\n

Married? A UC Berkeley study tracked more than 150 long-term marriages over 25 years, analyzing emotional interactions between couples. What they found was that as couples aged, conflict gave way to humor and tenderness. Bickering lessened. Jokes increased. Couples married at least 35 years were especially likely to use teasing, silliness, old movie lines, and good-natured ribbing \u2014 some of the same behaviors that may have landed differently or even caused trouble in year three.<\/p>\n

When you think about it, decades of accumulated shared history eventually produce something akin to a private language. A single look across a dinner table can mean seventeen things at once and be funny to exactly two people on earth.<\/p>\n

A CBS News poll found that a sense of humor ranked five times more important than sex<\/a> in building a successful marriage<\/a>. That’s not terribly scientific, but those of us already in the senior age range can vouch for the importance of humor where intimacy<\/a> is concerned.<\/p>\n

If you’re flying solo by choice, divorce<\/a>, or loss, humor may matter even more. Just because you’re not coupled up, and there is no one obligated to laugh at your jokes or find your reaction to the morning news amusing, doesn’t mean honing your own sense of humor isn’t worth doing.<\/p>\n

Ever hear about the research that says social isolation<\/a> can be compared to the health impact of smoking<\/a> 15 cigarettes a day? Humor can be a social connector, drawing people in, diffusing tension, and creating what researchers call “shared positive experiences.” If you’re single and aging, a good sense of humor is infrastructure, not just a personality<\/a> trait.<\/p>\n

In my own experience, the ability to find my own situation funny \u2014 not in a self-deprecating, seeking-approval way, but in a genuine “well, this is absurd” way \u2014 is what separates me from women who age with their jaws clenched. Research says the kind of humor that helps you make light of a difficult situation without tearing yourself down is associated with less conflict and better psychological resilience<\/a>. Aggressive or self-defeating humor? Not so much. One builds you up; the other self-owns in a way that serves you not at all.<\/p>\n

No one is saying you need to be Mrs. Maisel. “Have you tried laughing?” is not advice I’d offer anyone dealing with real loss or illness. But as with the Sally Field line, humor can work alongside grief<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Think a sense of humor is something you need to be born with? Think again. It can be cultivated, protected, and consistently chosen, depending on who you spend time with, what you watch, what you read, and whether you let yourself be ridiculous every now and then without apologizing for it. My own profile here on Psychology Today refers to my “Nora Ephron-esque” sense of humor in a When Harry Met Sally kind of way.<\/p>\n

The older I get, the less reverent I become. Damn it \u2014 I’ve earned the right to be funny on my own terms. And as my 70s progress, I swear I’ll only get funnier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Remember Sally Field in Steel Magnolias when she hands a stranger a piece of cake at a funeral…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-688584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}