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Is Laughter the Best Medicine?
By
R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD
Feeling run down? Try
laughing more. Some researchers think laughter just might be the
best medicine, helping you feel better and putting that spring
back in your step.
"I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives,
they are a lot better off," says Steve Wilson, M.A., CSP, a
psychologist and laugh therapist. "They might be healthier,
too."
 Yet researchers aren't sure if it's actually the act of laughing
that makes people feel better. A good sense of humor, a positive
attitude, and the support of friends and family might play a
role, too.
"The definitive research into the potential health benefits of
laughter just hasn’t been done yet," says Robert R. Provine,
professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County and author of Laughter: A Scientific
Investigation.
But while we don't know for sure that laughter helps people feel
better, it certainly isn't hurting.
Laughter therapy - what happens when we laugh?
We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles
throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go
up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues.
People who believe in the benefits of laughter say it can be
like a mild workout — and may offer some of the same advantages
as a workout.
"The effects of laughter and exercise are very similar," says
Wilson. "Combining laughter and movement, like waving your arms,
is a great way to boost your heart rate."
One pioneer in laughter research, William Fry, claimed it took
10 minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the
level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter.
And laughter appears to burn calories, too. Maciej Buchowski, a
researcher from Vanderbilt University, conducted a small study
in which he measured the amount of calories expended in
laughing. It turned out that 10-15 minutes of laughter burned 50
calories.
While the results are intriguing, don’t be too hasty in ditching
that treadmill. One piece of chocolate has about 50 calories; at
the rate of 50 calories per hour, losing one pound would require
about 12 hours of concentrated laughter!
Laughter's effects on the body
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In the last few decades, researchers have studied laughter's
effects on the body and turned up some potentially interesting
information on how it affects us:
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Blood flow. Researchers at
the University of Maryland studied the effects on blood
vessels when people were shown either comedies or dramas.
After the screening, the blood vessels of the group who
watched the comedy behaved normally — expanding and
contracting easily. But the blood vessels in people who
watched the drama tended to tense up, restricting blood
flow.
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Immune response. Increased
stress is associated with decreased immune system response,
says Provine. Some studies have shown that the ability to
use humor may raise the level of infection-fighting
antibodies in the body and boost the levels of immune cells,
as well.
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Blood sugar levels. One
study of 19 people with diabetes looked at the effects of
laughter on blood sugar levels. After eating, the group
attended a tedious lecture. On the next day, the group ate
the same meal and then watched a comedy. After the comedy,
the group had lower blood sugar levels than they did after
the lecture.
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Relaxation and sleep. The
focus on the benefits of laughter really began with Norman
Cousins' memoir, Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins, who was
diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful spine
condition, found that a diet of comedies, like Marx Brothers
films and episodes of Candid Camera, helped him feel better.
He said that 10 minutes of laughter allowed him two hours of
pain-free sleep.
The evidence: is laughter the best
medicine?
But things get murky when researchers try to sort out the
full effects of laughter on our minds and bodies. Is
laughter really good for you? Can it actually boost your
energy? Not everyone is convinced.
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"I don't mean to sound like a curmudgeon," says Provine,
"but the evidence that laughter has health benefits is iffy
at best."
He says that most studies of laughter have been small and
not well conducted. He also says too many researchers have
an obvious bias: they go into the study wanting to prove
that laughter has benefits.
For instance, Provine says studies of laughing have often
not looked at the effects of other, similar activities.
"It's not really clear that the effects of laughing are
distinct from screaming," Provine says.
Provine says that the most convincing health benefit he's
seen from laughter is its ability to dull pain. Numerous
studies of people in pain or discomfort have found that when
they laugh they report that their pain doesn't bother them
as much.
But Provine believes it's not clear that comedy is
necessarily better than another distraction. "It could be
that a compelling drama would have the same effect."
One of the biggest problems with laughter research is that
it's very difficult to determine cause and effect.
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For instance, a study might show that people who laugh more
are less likely to be sick. But that might be because people
who are healthy have more to laugh about. Or researchers
might find that, among a group of people with the same
disease, people who laugh more have more energy. But that
could be because the people who laugh more have a
personality that allows them to cope better.
So it becomes very hard to say if laughter is actually an
agent of change — or just a sign of a person's underlying
condition.
Laughing it up for
quality of life
Laughter, Provine believes, is part of a larger
picture. "Laughter is social, so any health benefits might
really come from being close with friends and family, and not
the laughter itself," he says.
In his own research, Provine has found that we're 30 times
more likely to laugh when we’re with other people than when
we're alone. People who laugh a lot may just have a strong
connection to the people around them. That in itself might
have health benefits.
Wilson agrees there are limits to what we know about
laughter's benefits.
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"Laughing more could make you healthier, but we don't know,"
he tells WebMD. "I certainly wouldn't want people to start
laughing more just to avoid dying — because sooner or later,
they'll be disappointed."
But we all know that laughing, being with friends and
family, and being happy can make us feel better and give us
a boost — even though studies may not show why.
So Wilson and Provine agree that regardless of whether
laughter actually improves your health or boosts your
energy, it undeniably improves your quality of life.
"Obviously, I'm not anti-laughter," says Provine. "I'm just
saying that if we enjoy laughing, isn't that reason enough
to laugh? Do you really need a prescription?"
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© 2006-2007, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved. |
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