laughter is the best medicine

Humor Can Heal Humor yourself. It’s no joke that laughter is good for your mind and body.

by Melissa Abramovitz

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t’s been a rotten day for Kara. She’s soaking wet because the rain and wind thrashed her umbrella to shreds. She just finished taking a history test that took her by surprise. Then her friend Ellie comes along and asks, “Trying to win the stringy hair contest today?” Kara looks at Ellie’s shiny, blond, perfectly styled hair and is tempted to give an angry reply, but decides the day has already been dismal enough. Instead she answers, “I already won that contest—plus the one for the most mildewed socks.” Kara and Ellie both break into huge grins and laugh their way to the cafeteria. The day suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. Why do humor and laughter help people climb out of the doldrums?

Laughter Is the Best Medicine Over the past several decades, researchers have been able to prove scientifically what many of us know through experience: A good laugh can work wonders in getting us through stressful situations and even serious illnesses. Dr. William Fry, a psychiatrist at Stanford University, was one of the first researchers to study how laughter affects physical and mental health. He says of the mental health aspect, “I believe humor is both a contributor to and manifestation of our mental health. It reflects a positive orientation to life and a sense of well-being.” Studies have shown that a good sense of humor helps our mental health, in part because

it puts us more in control of our lives. This increases selfesteem since it means you control how you react to events, even when you can’t control these events. Everyone experiences bad or unpleasant things. Some let these bad things drag them into a chasm of self-pity, while others take control and make a bad situation better. Humor also enhances mental health by linking us to other people and providing a positive and healthy way of sharing ideas and emotions. Victor Borge, humorist and entertainer, once said, “Humor is the shortest distance between two people,” a remark that has been proven to be true over and over again. Take the example of Jason, 16, who was tired of having

! a HHa !

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It’s No Joke!

Did you know that… • Laughing 100 times amounts to the same exercise as riding a stationary bike for 15 minutes. • “Twenty seconds of guffawing gives the heart the same workout as three minutes of hard rowing,” according to expert Dr. William Fry. • You use 13 muscles to smile and 50 to frown. Using those 50 frown muscles leads to wrinkles a lot faster than using the 13 smile muscles. • People are 30 times likelier to laugh in a group than alone. • Women tend to laugh more than men do—except when listening to other women.

other kids at school call him “brainy boy” because he consistently got the highest grades in every class. For a while, Jason got angry at the teasing and retaliated with nasty replies, like “At least my IQ is over 25.” This didn’t stop the other kids, even though Jason’s replies did contain an element of derogatory humor. In fact, this type of response probably made the kids tease him more, since they saw it got him upset. Then Jason tried a new approach. He started responding with humorous rejoinders that poked fun at himself instead of reflecting anger. When Jason said, “Yeah, it’s a good thing I’m smart, since I’ll never play in the NFL with my skinny arms,” the other kids started laughing with him instead of at him. The “brainy boy” taunts went away.

mental and physical health. “Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain your daily mood and emotional state support good health,” says Dr. Paul McGhee, president of The Laughter Remedy and an internationally known expert on the healing power of

influenced by your emotions, and in turn these neuropeptides can affect your health. Laughter and positive emotions in general help stimulate neuropeptides that strengthen your body in ways that can reduce the risk of or prevent common colds, flu, depression, and even cancer. Another way laughter influences your health is by directly stimulating your immune system to fight invading viruses and cancers. Dr. Lee Berk and his associates at Loma Linda University Medical Center found that laughter increases the number and activity of antibodies that fight different types of infections. It also increases the amount of gamma interferon, a hormone that fights viruses and controls cell growth; the number of natural killer cells, T-cells; and Complement 3—all important elements of the immune system.

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! a HHa ! The Mind–Body Connection Besides doing great things for your immediate mood and self-esteem, research shows humor goes a long way in improving your long-term

—Groucho Marx

humor. “It is through the emotions you experience in connection with your thoughts and daily attitudes—actually, through the neurochemical changes that accompany these emotions—that your mind acquires the power to influence whether or not you get sick or remain well.” Your body cells communicate with each other through molecules called neuropeptides. The type of neuropeptides that the cells receive are

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Humor Helps Medical research has proven that stress and negative emotions contribute to health

problems such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Now scientists also have found the converse to be true—the body responds to humor the opposite way that it responds to stress. Laughter directly lowers blood levels of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and dopac. This can result in lower blood pressure and less strain on the heart. Other research shows laughter helps the cardiovascular system by giving the heart and lungs an aerobic workout. It causes the heart to beat faster and empties stale air and carbon dioxide out of the lungs and replaces it with oxygenrich air that benefits the whole body. For this reason, some experts call laughter “internal jogging.” Laughing also exercises other muscles besides the heart. The abdominal muscles, diaphragm, shoulders, facial muscles, and even the arms and legs get a workout. After a bout of laughter is over, muscles throughout the body become more relaxed. Research with severely ill patients shows that the effects of laughter and humor can reach beyond everyday fitness and health improvement. One study found people who survived one heart attack could cut the risk of a second heart attack by 20 percent just by watching 30 minutes of comedy videos per day. Other research finds that laughter significantly reduces pain for people with painful diseases such as arthritis and cancer. Part of the reason for this is that humor is a distraction from pain; another part is that laughter causes muscle relaxation, which reduces pain in general. But whatever the

! a HHa !

reasons, scientists now have proof for comedian Groucho Marx’s famous line, “A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast.”

The Humor Rx Given the many mental and physical health benefits, it makes sense to try to include more humor in your life whenever possible. Although people don’t have to learn to laugh, sometimes it helps to be reminded of ways to increase your daily dose of funnies. Laughter is a natural behavior that tends to decrease as we age. In fact, studies show that babies and small children laugh a lot more than teens and adults do. Somehow, growing up and getting serious go together, but you can still find time for more laughter if you try. Here are some tips for upping your daily humor exposure: • Collect funny books, comics, and videos to read or view when you need a laugh. • Act goofy at a party by wearing a clown nose and seeing how many people laugh. • Create a funny poster or Web site with your friends. • Don’t take yourself too seriously—learn to laugh at yourself if you make a mistake. • Hang out with people who have a good sense of humor— it’s contagious! • Cut out comics that really

make you laugh and post them in strategic places like your locker, bulletin board, or refrigerator. • Share good jokes with others. • Keep a humor journal of things you find funny and read it when you’re down. • Put on a happy face, even if you don’t feel like it. Sometimes just smiling makes you—and those around you — feel better. A Time to Laugh Even though it’s healthy to increase your daily dose of humor, keep in mind that humor is not always helpful or

appropriate. The type of humor that involves sarcasm, put-downs, and insensitive jokes directed at others is not good or healthy for anyone. Humor directed at yourself or a situation is generally OK, but use common sense if there’s a possibility of hurting someone. Sometimes, laughter must wait for the right moment. But remember, laughter is contagious. Try spreading it around more! ✦

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