Is Laughter The Best Medicine?
Is it just an adage, or does it have any merit? Well, there is plenty of evidence to support it.
But hold on, why do we even have to talk about laughter? Isn’t it a natural thing? When did we unlearn laughing and trade in our happy faces for serious scowls? Close your eyes and drift back to visions of your childhood – long hours of playing with friends, riding bikes around the neighborhood till dark, and indulging at will in the joy of endless laughter. Slowly and without notice, your youthful silliness gave way to stodgy adult silence. You grew up, and with it came grown-up responsibilities. Moments of folly and jolly became far, and few between as the responsibilities of adult life got in the way.
Science of Silly
Do you know that reclaiming your joie de rire not only lifts your spirits but may also help you get healthier?
Happy heart
Laughter exerts a positive influence on the cardiovascular system. Strong emotions are known to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which increases both heart rate and blood pressure. In a study that exposed three groups of men to a humorous, sad, or neutral movie, only the sad movie caused a rise in blood pressure. In contrast, the blood pressure in participants watching the funny film remained stable. The authors concluded that a humorous stimulus might help buffer the rise in blood pressure. Pretty good side effect of having a bit of fun, especially if you’ve had, or are at risk for a heart attack!
Immune booster
Researchers at Loma Linda University in California exposed 52 men to a humorous video for one hour. Blood samples were taken before, during, and after revealed increases in protective natural killer cell activity and immunoglobulins, with some of these beneficial effects lasting as long as 12 hours after the intervention. The authors concluded that laughter might have significant benefits for the immune system.
Mental well-being
WHO estimate indicates that over 350 million people are estimated to suffer from depression, equivalent to 4.4% of the world's population. Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States, afflicting at least 7.1% of all U.S. adults. There is incontrovertible evidence that humorous stimuli and a healthy sense of humor are associated with lower levels of depression, loneliness, stress, and higher levels of self-esteem and quality of life. In a study, 60 older women with depression were randomly assigned to a laughter yoga group, an exercise group, or a control group. Similar improvements in mood were observed in the laughter yoga and exercise groups compared to the control group. Moreover, the laughter yoga group scored better than the other groups on the Life Satisfaction Scale.
In another study of 48 older patients with depression and 61 age-matched controls, participants exposed to four weekly laughter groups scored significantly lower on the Geriatric Depression Scale and had a better Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score than those in the control group.
In a 2010 review, Fonzi and colleagues summarised the effects of laughter on depression, finding that:
laughter improves mood directly and moderates the negative consequences of stressful events on mental well-being.
laughter stimulates regions of the brain involved in the development of depression and normalizes dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system.
laughter has positive effects on social relationships and physical health, which can help depressed people to face the disease.
Helps Diabetes
For people with diabetes, healthy eating, regular activity, medication, and education are the cornerstones of management. But a healthy dose of laughter may be just what the doctor ordered. Japanese researchers studied the effects of laughter on after-meal blood glucose levels. Participants with type 2 diabetes ate a 500 calorie meal followed by an intentionally boring 40-minute lecture, with blood glucose levels measured two hours later. This was repeated on a different day but instead with a comedy show of the same duration. After the boring intervention, blood glucose levels rose 6.8 mmol/L, whereas blood glucose levels only rose to 4.3 mmol/L after the laughter treatment. A side dish of sweet laughter may prevent the post-meal increase in blood glucose levels.
Protects Kidneys in Diabetes
In a separate report based on the same study, the comedy show attendees also experienced desirable reductions in prorenin – an early warning sign for diabetic kidney disease. In a related study, the same researchers observed improvements in the renin-angiotensinogen system (linked to blood pressure and diabetes) and blood prorenin levels of participants with type 2 diabetes receiving six months of laughter therapy. Laughter treatments can stave off diabetic kidney disease. How cool is that?
Laugh without reason?
What about laughing for no good reason whatsoever? Is it possible to fake it until you make it and still reap the health benefits? Surprisingly both genuine and fake laughter produces the same happy chemistry. And this is the premise of laughter yoga. Laughter Yoga is a relaxed social experience where you get together in a group and do interactive chants and hand-clapping, act out silly hypothetical scenarios, imitate animals such as waddling penguins, or blow up your cheeks like a pufferfish – the possibilities are limitless! The childlike playfulness and simulated laughter which accompanies the exercises soon give way to genuine, contagious laughter. First started by Dr. Madan Kataria in 1995 as five people laughing for no reason in a park in India has since turned into a global phenomenon. There are now about 8000 laughter yoga clubs in 100 countries. It’s about being entirely in the moment, not thinking about your problems or things you have to do, or even how silly you feel, but allowing yourself and your mind time to play, release your inner child and give you some much-needed exercise.
Laughter is a wine for the soul. Like anything we do in life, laughter is a habit – the more you practice, the easier it becomes, and the more relaxed you feel. In a world that takes itself far too seriously, that’s certainly something we could all use. You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing!
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21241447/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20848578/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17540229/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19450597/
Published 8/23/2020
Dr. Amar Singh, MD, and Dr. Poonam Singh, MD, are board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and American Board of Obesity Medicine. They specialize in preventing, treating, and reversing chronic diseases using an evidence-based holistic approach. They are specifically interested in weight management, hormone re-balancing, and longevity. The American College of Physicians has recognized them as Fellows, FACP, for their excellence and contributions made to both medicine and the broader community. They enjoy teaching, volunteering, and advocating for their patients. Their mission is to share simple, effective, and proven strategies that lead to meaningful, sustainable, and long-lasting well-being.
