Until now, several theories have sought to explain what makes something funny enough to make us laugh.

I decided to review all the available literature on laughter and humor published in English over the last 10 years to find out if any other conclusions could be drawn.

I looked at research papers on theories of humor that provided significant information on three areas: the physical features of laughter, the brain centers related to producing laughter, and the health benefits of laughter.

This amounted to more than 150 papers that provided evidence for important features of the conditions that make humans laugh.

It could also explain why we are drawn to people who make us laugh.

Similarly, the joke at the beginning of this article starts with a scene from normal life, then turns into something a little strange and baffling (the woman behaving incongruously), but which we ultimately realize is not serious and actually very comical (the double meaning of the doctor's response induces relief), triggering laughter.

As I showed in a previous study about the human behavior of weeping, laughter has a strong importance for the physiology of our body.

Like weeping – and chewing, breathing or walking – laughter is a rhythmic behavior which is a releasing mechanism for the body.

The brain centers that regulate laughter are those which control emotions, fears and anxiety.

The release of laughter breaks the stress or tension of a situation and floods the body with relief.

Reviewing this data on laughter also permits a hypothesis about why people fall in love with someone because "they make me laugh".

That could explain why we adore those who make us laugh.