Many people believe that laughing prolongs a person’s lifespan. Whether that is true or not, the fact is being happy and expressing joy makes life’s difficulties less depressing. However, did you know that laughing can help your eyesight?

If you do not fear expressing joy, you must have laughed so hard that tears came out at some point. When this happens, you may view it as a conflicting emotional response since tears are known to signify sadness.

So, what do your eyes and tears have to do with your laughter?

Musculus orbicularis oculi

According to optometry, laughing involves your eyes and mouth. There are several facial muscles involved in laughing. The muscle that controls your mouth corners is known as Musculus zygomaticus, while orbicularis oculi control the eye area.

These two muscles are different because the former is controllable by you, while the other is out of your deliberate control. This explains why you can actually smile when you want to or simply avoid it. However, the Musculus orbicularis oculi are uncontrollable and that is why you will never prevent those tears from flowing out when laughing.

How Musculus orbicularis oculi help your eyesight when laughing

The orbicularis oculi is a muscle situated in the eyelids that control the eye area by closing them. This means that it automatically provides eye care, whether you are wearing glasses or not. As the muscle contracts, and closes the eyelids, it also helps in the drainage of tears from your eyes. These tears come from the tear film through the lacrimal pump system.

So the orbicularis oculi help in keeping your eyes lubricated even when not laughing. More tears flow out when laughing because there is more of this muscle contraction and thus more drawing of tears. If tears fail to flow out after laughing to that extent, there may be a problem with the eyelid muscle.

When the orbicularis oculi have a problem, your eyelids may fail to close well and cause other problems such as corneal ulcer, significant pain, and corneal perforation. These issues arise mostly because there are no tears to lubricate the eyes.

Therefore, if you ever experience significant pain in your eyes, you will need to visit Inland Valley Optometry, where you can receive optometry such as eye examination, medical diagnosis, and eye care to ensure the problem does not worsen or for eye disease management.    

Exercising the orbicularis oculi

Aside from drawing tears that help to keep the eyes lubricated, laughing also helps in exercising the orbicularis oculi. The more you laugh, the more you contract the muscle, beyond what it is used to on a regular basis.

This contraction keeps the muscles in check, active and more functional. Therefore, the more you laugh, the healthier your orbicularis oculi remains.  

In conclusion, laughing seems to be good for your eyesight. It exercises the orbicularis oculi muscle through an extra contraction. The good health of this muscle ensures better eye care due to adequate lubrication from tears.

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