Laugh It Off!

The Power of Laughter to Improve Your Health

Laughter therapy advocates take the proverb “a cheerful heart does good like medicine,” literally. And they practice what they preach, using the body’s natural response to humor to heal itself. It’s their contention that laughter allows one to release negative emotions like anger, fear and boredom and helps one to achieve clarity and harmony by relieving excess tension. Laugh if you must, but the results of recent scientific studies indicate they’re onto something.

Henri de Mondeville, a 14^thcentury French surgeon, was an early laughter therapy practitioner who used it to help patients recover from surgery. Martin Luther King used a form of laughter therapy in his pastoral counseling of depressed people. And author Norman Cousins details how laughter therapy helped him manage symptoms ofBechterew's disease—a vicious form of arthritis— in his book Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. Says Cousins, “I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.”

Benefits of Laughter

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently published a study indicating that laughter therapy can improve the quality of life of patients with chronic medical problems. According to the report, laughter provides immediate relief for such patients. Below are the major health benefits that the study cites:

• Heightened interferon levels, which improve one’s ability to fight illness and facilitate healing.
• Reduction of stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity.
• Relaxation of tightened muscles.
• Diversion of attention from persistent aches and pains.
• Massage-like effect on the internal organs. (Especially beneficial for those unable to perform physical exercises, like the elderly and the disabled.)
• “Cleansing” of the lungs. (Especially beneficial for patients suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.)

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Laughter and the Brain

According to neurophysiology studies, laughter is linked with the activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—the area that produces endorphins after a good meal, an orgasm and at the instant that we get a joke. Not only do endorphins produce a natural “high,” they strengthen the immune system, reduce pain, speed recovery from illness and relax the body.

Herbert Lefcourt, a psychologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, has tested the hypothesis that laughter can change one’s emotional responses to stress. Results of his studies show that the ability to recognize and appreciate humor can interrupt negative stress responses.

Laughing also helps to distract people from physical and psychological pain, the therapeutic effects of which should not be underestimated.

Laughter and the Heart

Laughter directly alters one’s biochemical state. It increases attentiveness, the heart rate, and the pulse rate. Those who laugh heartily and regularly have fewer blood pressure problems than the average individual. After a good belly laugh, blood pressure increases, then returns to normal levels. Breathing also becomes deeper, improving the circulation of oxygen enriched-blood and nutrients throughout the body.

A good belly laugh has been shown to increase the production of the body’s very own infection-fighting antibodies. This can help in preventing the arteries from hardening, which may lead to severe conditions such as angina, heart attack, and stroke.

According to a study conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, laughter and an active sense of humor may help prevent heart attack. The study found that people with heart disease are 40% less likely to laugh at something funny, compared to people the same age with healthy hearts.

Numerous studies point up the connection between stress, negative emotions and heart disease. People who are chronically hostile have a greater likelihood of suffering a heart attack. Those with anxious, stressed-out lifestyles are at a greater risk for blockages of the coronary arteries. And depressives are two-and-a-half times more likely to suffer from heart disease, compared to individuals who lead normal lives and laugh regularly.  

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Laughter and Diabetes

A study published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine has shown that laughter can help lower blood sugar levels after a meal.

Keiko Hayashi, PhD, RN, of Japan’s University of Tsukuba, performed a study on people with type 2 diabetes. Blood samples were collected from subjects before and two hours after a meal. On the first night of the study, the subjects attended a 40 minute long lecture after dinner. On the second night, they attended a 40 minute comedy show.

Examination of the blood samples collected revealed that the participants’ blood sugar level was considerably higher after the lecture, and much lower after the comedy show. The study clearly demonstrates that laughter has a direct, beneficial effect on blood sugar levels.

Laughter and Asthma

Laughter therapy is contraindicated for individuals suffering from asthma. According to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting in 2005, nearly 2/3 of people with asthma reported asthma attacks that were triggered by laughter. Stuart Garay, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine at NYU Medical Center, states that the triggering laughter doesn’t have to be deep—it can be a chuckle or even a giggle.

During the 18 month study it was noted that exercise-induced asthma was common among patients who reported laughter-triggered asthma attacks. According to the study, 61% of those who suffered from laughter-induced asthma reported exercise as a trigger as well. Andrew Ries, MD, indicated that this is probably because both laughter and exercise increase airway movement and produce intense emotional reactions.

Types of Laughter Therapy

Humor Therapy

In humor therapy, comedic stimuli such as movies, TV shows, books and stories are used to encourage both spontaneous laughter and discussion of personal experiences. This kind of therapy may be either individual or group-based. (Group humor therapy has the potential to be less effective, because not everyone finds the same things funny.)

The humor therapy process is typically facilitated by a health care professional. It is critical that this facilitator empathizes with the participants, and is sensitive enough to laugh with rather than at them.

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Clown Therapy

Clown therapy is an offshoot of laughter therapy based on “humanitarian clowning.” Patch Adams, MD, founder of the Gesundheit organization, is one of the leading proponents of clown therapy. He is actively involved in organizing clown visits to hospitals, prisons, refugee camps—even war zones—to provide those in need with medicine, food and laughter.

Individuals that are trained in clown therapy, hospital procedures and hygiene perform and spread a message of laughter, joy and compassion. In the case of hospitalized children, clown therapy has been found to increase patient cooperation and decrease patient and parental anxiety. Many children require less sedation after receiving clown therapy. For some there is a reduction in pain and an increased immune function.

Laughter Meditation

Laughter meditation is not as different from traditional meditation as one might think. The main difference is that in practicing the former, one uses laughter as a means of focus and concentration. The practitioner of laughter meditation doesn’t look for external sources of humor, but draws inspiration from within the self.

Through a 15-minute three-stage process of stretching, laughing and meditative silence, one’s inner laughter is brought to the surface. In the first stage, one stretches all the major muscles groups without laughing. In the second, one gradually begins to smile, progressing gradually to a full belly laugh. Lastly, one cuts the laughter off abruptly, and with eyes closed, takes deep, silent breaths. The resulting calm is reputed to be highly therapeutic.

Laughter Yoga & Laughter Clubs

Laughter yoga combines traditional yoga poses with the Buddhist technique of “forced laughter.”

The structure of laughter yoga sessions prescribes a series of laughing exercises that take place over a 30-45 minute span. Sessions are led by a trained laughter yoga specialist. Laughter yoga is used as both supplemental and preventative therapy, and can be performed either one-on-one or as a part of a group.

Therapeutic laughter clubs are an extension of laughter yoga. Started in 1995 by an Indian doctor named Madan Kataria, the first laughter club met at a local park and numbered under 50. Now there are over 5000 such clubs worldwide. Laughter club participants gather to take advantage of the infectious, group-psychological effect that takes place when people laugh together. Many laughter clubs rely on a structured format that incorporates yoga breathing exercises.