E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSBe careful how hard you laugh at some of this summer’s blockbuster comedies. "Bridesmaids," "Horrible Bosses" or "The Hangover" sequel could just be the death of you.
“Years ago, I went to see 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' with a friend and I thought I was going to die laughing,” says Jim Dailakis, a 41-year-old comedian from Queens, N.Y. “We had this brutal karate instructor who looked just like this little golden head that Harrison Ford holds up at one point. I saw that head and started howling like a girl. And then I couldn’t catch my breath and had to think of something else so I wouldn’t pass out.”
Dailakis, who says he’s usually goaded into uncontrollable laughing fits by his buddies, says he’s actually blacked out laughing over the years.
“The first time it happened, I thought I was going to die,” he says. “I was on my knees laughing, and then suddenly I couldn’t breathe. It was scary and freaky but I couldn’t stop laughing. And then I began to weep uncontrollably and I thought that was so hilarious, I went into another manic fit of laughter. My friend was laughing so hard, he had to leave the room.”
After that, Dailakis saw stars -- then passed out.
“The next thing I knew, I was lying down and looking up,” he says. “And I could still hear my friend laughing in the next room.”
According to Dr. Martin Samuels, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, blacking out while laughing may be related to over-breathing, and is probably not too dangerous.
“This is most likely benign and unlikely that it would lead to death,” he says.
But that doesn’t mean death doesn’t sometimes wear a smile. In the third century B.C., the Greek philosopher Chrysippus was said to have died laughing after getting his donkey drunk on wine. More recently, a Danish audiologist died laughing in 1989 while watching "A Fish Called Wanda." (It's also the subject of an old Monty Python sketch, in which a writer pens the "funniest joke in the world" -- and immediately dies.)
“Happy news is just as dangerous as sad news with regard to the risk of sudden death,” he says. “I have cases of people who died after hitting holes in one, after bowling perfect 300 games and upon hearing the words ‘Not Guilty.’ Death during sexual activity is also well known. Ecstasy, happiness and good news are definitely risky.”
Why would good news or happy circumstances put us at risk? It’s all about that old fight-or-flight response, he says.
“Extreme excitement, whether that be sadness or happiness activates the part of the brain that’s responsible for the flight or fight response to threats in the wild,” he says. “This releases a natural chemical -- adrenaline -- which in large animals can be toxic to various organs, in particular the heart.”
As a result, extremely strong emotional states -- whether positive or negative -- can be harmful to the heart, on rare occasions causing an abnormal rhythm which can be lethal.
Dailakis says his laughter blackouts used to bother him, but now that he knows what to expect, he’s not worried.
“Afterward, I feel exhausted but so alive,” he says. “I wouldn’t change it for the world. Why should I go to a doctor? It’s obviously a natural thing. It would be like telling the doctor, ‘I get turned on really easily. Can you stop that?’”
When's the last time you laughed so hard you couldn't catch your breath? What happened? Leave a comment telling us about it.
Want more weird health news? Find The Body Odd on Facebook.
Leave a Comment:
I have had those kinds of laughing spells sporadically over the years. I have never blacked out, but have laughed myself breathless, and it was a struggle to calm myself enough to focus on taking a breath. So glad to know I am not alone! It does make you feel alive - those moments are very memorable!
I thought that I was going to die one night from laughing when I watched Keith Olbermann & Rachel Maddow back to back. Now that's real comedy at it's frickin best.
I can 100% that laughter can be deadly. When something I think is totally hilarious, I sometimes laugh so hard I actually black out!! The worst time is when I was driving 65 mph on the Wantagh when my wife started playing a voice mail from a stuttering doctor with whom she had to deal with.... we started laughing hysterically, and when I saw my wife going off - I just lost it! I just started going out of conciousnessand slumping down... just before I went totally out, realizing what was happening, told my wife "GRAB THE WHEEL!" She thought I was kidding. I was not! I was completely out when i was in the right lane and woke up a few seconds later in the left lane!! All fuzzy and out of it I finally composed myself enough not to kill me, her and anyone else!
Yes... Laughter CAN kill!! Almost got me!!
I have laughter induced asthma, a rare variant of exercise induced asthma. Without a rescue inhaler, I can have a life threatening attack. Needless to say, I immediately leave the area of severe humor.
Oh well.
Dano, I had a similar experience only it was with O'reilly and Hannity.
To Dano 2070101:
Yes I am convulsed with laughter when I watch Olbermann and Maddow, but only when they show videos of Palin, Bachman, Sharron Angle - let's not forget Christine O'Donnell -- Boehner, Gingrich, Romney, Trump and all the other Republican clowns and jokers making asinine and moronic comments -- very funny (thought pitiful) indeed!
@John:Glad you are watching O'Reilly & Hannity at least you can get 2 points of view. Keep Watching. Thanks.
@JW10:Glad you are convulsed with laughter, me to. VP Biden has a hard time saying anything that makes any sense at all. Where are the other 7 states that Barry is talking about? How does anyone get elected to president no less that has no clue how many states there are? Is our president smarter than a 5th grader guess not. Next question.
Yup, can be funny as heck and I won't be able to breathe. Problem with trying to stop, is just thinking about it or looking at someone who is in on the laughter with you, starts the whole laughter process over again.
I also have asthma, and nearly died laughing in a classroom once with my students. Finally had to leave the room with my inhaler and it took several minutes to get back to breathing regularly.
I wouldn't change it though. I actually told my dentist once, that if I could choose which way I wanted to die, it would be laughing gas. It's such a peaceful and joyous feeling. Going out feeling that good couldn't be all that bad, could it? :))
I have almost died of boredom on numerous occasions.
@dano
People who end posts with "next question" have no wit.
People who have no wit are called witless.
People who are called witless vote republican.
People who vote republican are either rich or stupid.
People who are called stupid live up to expectations.
People who live up to expectations but don't get rich vote republican more often.
Stop voting republican. Get smart.
Now you know.
Ah yes, the legend of the joke that kills; otherwise known as the Necro-Laughicus,
I'll be here all week.
This is one of the reason i don't watch Faux news....i almost pass out laughing every time i do ....
hahah Faux news, im going to die laughing.
@MrIndia: Sounds like Fox news is to much for ya. Go back to Sponge Bob Square Pants or whatever cartoons you can relate to.
Question: Who are the conservative commentators you like on MSNBC,CNN,ABC,NBC,CBS? Oh crap I forgot there aren't any are there?
dano - Loony Tunes would at times have me to my knees, a mantel taken up by Fox where they've run off the cliff, their wheels spinning. In that world gravity doesn't take affect until you look down and see the abyss and the calamity that awaits.
I once had gas and tore the cartilage on my ribcage
I once had gas and burned the inner lining of my nostrils.
I have died laughing several times in my life. It was most horrid.
I tend to have asthma attacks if I laugh too hard for too long, then I have to use an inhaler and if I don't have one on me I spend the next several hours coughing and feeling like I'm suffocating :/
Now we're not allowed to laugh because it could kill us! Now I've read it all! Hahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
There!
Not stopped breathing, but I had a laughing spell that I was trying to keep quiet, and it caused me to suffer a Vertebral Artery Dissection and three weeks later I had a stroke. If you're going to laugh, don't hold it in!
Not stopped breathing, but I had a laughing spell that I was trying to keep quiet, and it caused me to suffer a Vertebral Artery Dissection and three weeks later I had a stroke. If you're going to laugh, don't hold it in!
I was sitting with my sister, who is a Spanish language student, and my girlfriend who is a Doctor. My girlfriend was telling us about the few Spanish phrases all American Doctors learn so they can quickly diagnose spanish speakers at the hospital. Naturally, I started asking my sister how to say every asinine, or absurd question I could think of a Doctor asking. Which my sister, in her ladylike, scholarly way would dutifully repeat back to me.
The golden moment was when I asked her how to say "Do you get diarrhea after you smoke the marijuana?" You had to be there, she had this look on her face that was so pricelss: confused, wary, and slightly accusing as she said deadpan:
"¿Usted tiene diarrea después de que el humo... de la marihuana?"
I thought I would die it was so funny. The way she rolled the "rrr" at the end... I could hardly breath I was laughing so hard. I eventually had to stumble out of the living room like an insane drunken person, shrieking with laughter and every one else starting cracking up at my seeming helplessness. Absolutely priceless. You had to be there.
@absoluteright
Isums getting stopped fwom doing things? Awwww. Go poop your pants and show 'em!
Can recall numerous times when enjoying a really good laugh with friends that were equally as amused as myself. We would laugh so hard and long that the stomach muscles begin to hurt. The laughter itself takes on even more depth and meaning when observing the laughter and reactions of those with you. Then, reaching that uncontrolable level where all it takes is to glance at one of your friends who is also in hysterics and you all go right back into another deep round of laughter, unable to stop. Your eyes start to tear up from the heightened pain level as you try desperately to wind it down but it simply makes you laugh all the more. Afterwards your tummy aches and feels like you just did about 500 sit-ups in rapid succession. Never passed out from laughter, but I sure have gone to the edge of crying and trying desperately to hold my aching muscles. It felt great!
One scenario that seems to enhance the depth and breath of a really good laugh is not only when the laughing starts but also where. The more forbidden the locale is for laughter seems to double the pleasure of it. Trying to supress laughter amongst friends in a given location where it is not usually considered polite to be laughing only seems to fuel the fire and will send you over the edge too!
I recall during a friends very prim, proper and exceedingly high class wedding; the church was filled to capacity. From the age of 8 to 80, everyone was on their best behavior and dressed in their finest attire. While the bride and groom were taking their vows in this extremely eloquent Catholic wedding, there was a moment of total silence. You could have heard a pin drop... Except for the fact that the grooms little 7 year-old niece broke wind so loudly on the wooden pewseat that it resonated and echoed throughout the entire cathedral. This was all caught live on videotape. You see the entire congregation freeze and glance in the direction the noise came from. Then you notice this sweet little girl slowly sink down and out of sight. Those nearby started to giggle lightly as they watched her slowly vanish with this look of 'Ut-Oh' on her face. Then like wildfire the giggles spread and turned into outloud laughter. The priest was even caught off guard and started laughing with the bride and groom. It was hilarious!
You couldn't have stated it any better. I love to laugh! Especially when your somewhere and you'd never think of laughing...that's the funniest. Laugh til' you cry................. Thank you!
@Thunderproof~LOVED your story about the wedding! That had to be one of the best I have read about....thanks for sharing!
My sister and I have a contagious laugh that goes into the "hyena" cackle....and we just keep it going by merely looking at each other ( of course beyond the streaming tears down our faces.) Then we start the snorting....watch out when we get together!
Dying Out Loud Laughing? DOLL?
I can attest to this as well. There were a couple of times I laughed so hard, I thought I would keel over,
I once laughed so hard I smelled like I had died. Popped a vein in my eye, and lost a good pair of Family Guy boxer shorts in the deal.
This is the reason I stopped watching Fox News.
I actually worked on the translation of the world's funniest joke that the Python skit was based on. I was only allowed to translate two words for my own good.
I'm actually relieved to hear this, because its happened to me a handful of times. Once I get started, I cannot stop and eventually it starts to really hurt. The first time my fiance witnessed this I think it freaked the heck out of him. My brothers, on the other hand, used to try and goad me into it because they just thought it was hilarious.
Quite literally, LOL.
I love having those laughing fits where it feels like you just did a full-on abdominal workout.
I laughed, guffawed, howled and gasped for air for two and half hours straight at a Peter Schikele concert many summers ago. The wonder of it was that I DIDN'T die. Oh, and that telephone ringing after the orchestra had abandoned the stage had me on my knees!
I don't know, but if "Ecstasy, Happiness, and Good News are definitely risky," I'm a dead man.
When I laugh hard I immediately get a migraine headache!! Treid to get help for years!!
When I laugh hard I immediately get a migraine headache. Tried to get help for years!!!
actually that sounds like an exertion head-ache...not a migraine.
exertion head aches are actually more painful short shorter in duration, but are generally caused by inflamed blood vessels in the back of your head/neck combined with a period of suddenly increased blood pressure from things like heavy lifting, or hard laughing amongst many other things.
They can come on almost instantly and hurt to the point of keeping you from speaking or opening your eyes. But they usually subside into a normal throbbing headache after a minute or so.
try checking that out...I don't know any cures...but it might be nice for you to know why it happens.
I always get terrible hiccups after laughing, and as if the pain from laughing so hard isn't bad enough, the hiccups magnify it. Gives new meaning to the expression "dying of laughter".
Is it the laughter or the alcohol giving you hiccups? This combination can be as deadly as drinking and driving. I once ate a raw habanero pepper while drinking heavily. I believe amongst the laughter I performed EVERY body function from: sneezing, farting, gagging, sweating, crying, snotting, hiccupping, laughing, blowing out eye veins, and ruining good underwear. It was awesome!
Best one yet. Good thing I wasn't there or I would have truely, died, from laughing.
The day I die laughing over one of these pathetic attempts at humor (the movies mentioned) is the day I deserve to be dead!
My thoughts exactly, Grunt!
These modern so-called comedies are pathetic! Nothing but sophomoric, juvenile attempts at humor.
On the other hand, we went to see Louie Anderson in person and I laughed til I cried!
One of the worst laughter "attacks" I've ever had came at my father's funeral years ago. He was Catholic and my mother and I attended the traditional Catholic Latin service, something we had not done for at least 2 decades. The priest had two women there in front who knew the 'agenda' - when to sit, stand, kneel, etc - all the correct responses. My mom and I were so focused on not missing a 'cue' that we got the giggles, partially from the nervous tension and partially from the absurdity of it all. The harder we tried not to laugh, the harder we did - with heads bowed and faces in hands. Most people around us thought we were crying, which made us laugh all the harder. Sounds so cold, but it's one of my fondest memories of my parents. My father would have thought it was hysterical and laughed with us. Well, maybe he did, just from a different place...
... that ... is a wonderful story :c) ...
I LOVE this memory. It is so nice to see that someone else 1) has laughed at a funeral and 2) is not ashamed of that fact. I was 13 and fell into hysterics at my great grandmothers funeral. I had scared myself with the idea that there was a corpse in the room and when the AC kicked on it started moving a drape that wasn't near a window. I was scared to death thinking "GHOST" when I noticed the vent under the drape. I busted out laughing and was looked at like I had 3 heads by everyone around me! I left the room out of respect but I STILL have family members that think I have a screw loose because of that incident 20 years ago! LOL
I laughed at my father's funeral. He had requested a burial at sea, but the weather did not cooperate with the chosen day. No ship was leaving the harbor because the waves were forecast to increase. We begged and pleaded, as the small group of out of towners would not be able to return. The pilot of that boat hauled a%$ to get to the legal distance from shore and allow time for us to get back before the situation worsened. I had not realized that a boat could catch air the way this one did, both going up the waves and then crashing down the back of them. We all ended up standing down below and holding on to bars on the ceiling to keep from being tossed about like rag dolls. It was like a roller coaster ride without seatbelts. Finally my uncle shouted out what we were all thinking, "Man! It's like my brother's giving me one last wild ride!"
We laughed and laughed and cried and laughed some more. And treasured his larger than life personality. I couldn't have thought of a better send off. The icing on the cake arrived in the form of a well timed gust of air. Just as my brother and I shook my father's ashes over the side of the boat, the wind gusted in the opposite direction. I ended up with my father's ashes in my face, hair, mouth, nose and eyes. Quiet dignity is not what my irreverent father would have wanted. He received a burial that would not have been appropriate for another man, but it suited him to a T. I'm smiling just thinking about it.
I hope to hell that they laugh at my funeral!
None of that solemn crap and hymn-singing for me!
I am requesting that they play "Wild Thing".