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Laughter: Great Medicine

Natural relief for aches, pains, stress and anxiety

by Bart Mills

Published Dec 2006 in Lima, OH local spotlight | 0 Comments, Talk about this article »

Did you hear the one about the two podiatrists who opened their offices on the same street? Turns out they were arch enemies. Ba-da-boom!

Feel better?

Medicine has been a source of humor for centuries. But in recent years, humor has increasingly become a tool for health care workers hoping to relieve patients’ pain, stress, and anxiety.

“Research shows that laughter helps people recover more quickly from surgery. It helps physically, socially, emotionally, and psychologically,” says Nancy Recker, Extension Educator for family and consumer sciences at the Ohio State University Extension office. Recker speaks to area groups about the medicinal value of humor and ways to discover the humor around you.

“Humor helps you to cope. A lot of the suffering we experience is not a result of our difficulties, but how we deal with them,” Recker explains. “When we think about wellness, we think about healthy lifestyles, exercise, and other physical issues. But we don’t discuss mental wellness. You can do the right things physically, but if you don’t have good mental wellness, you’re not healthy.”

Rx Laugher, a nonprofit international charity that researches the effects of humor on health, has done studies showing that children and teens undergoing painful medical procedures can deal with pain significantly better when laughing at comedy shows during their procedures. They were also less afraid and less stressed. The organization is currently working with the National Cancer Institute in Thailand on a multi-year research project to study how comedy films and TV shows can help adults who are suffering from the side effects of cancer treatments to sleep better, be less fearful, and have less need for painkillers. (For more information, visit www.rxlaughter.org.)

Body and Soul Benefits

Laughter is absent from too many health regimens, Recker says. Yet good, hearty laughter can do more than improve your emotional state. Some experts believe it can release chemicals in the body to reduce pain and lower inflammation. It can be an emotional release and physical exercise all at once.

“It’s aerobic exercise of your innards,” says Recker. “Ten minutes of hearty laughter is equivalent to 20 minutes of aerobic exercise.”

Dr. Pamela Gardner, D.O., with the Heart Institute of Northwest Ohio, says the medical value of laughter can run the gamut of health issues. “It’s great for anyone with high blood pressure—it’s a very, very good way of lowering the adrenaline level, so your blood pressure will come down,” she notes. “For anybody who’s depressed, laughter is a good way of releasing the tension. Or if you have a stressful job, spend an evening at a comedy club and totally lose yourself. It’s a great release.”

As valuable as laughter can be for us all, Dr. Gardner admits it is rarely the first thing medical professionals consider when treating patients. “We probably don’t pay nearly enough attention to it,” she says. “We’re aware of it, but to write a prescription for someone to go to a funny movie, I haven’t done it. But then again, maybe I should.”

Unlike other medicines, there’s no risk of dangerous side effects from laughter. And few adults are in danger of overdosing on giggles. “The average child laughs about 400 times a day. The average adult laughs about 15 times a day,” notes Recker. “We have to wonder what happened to all that laughter we had as kids. They say you should laugh at least 15 times a day. That’s not hard advice to follow.”

Healthy Giggles

Here are some ways to work laughter into your day:

Rent or buy some funny movies to watch
Pick up a pack of Mad Libs at your local bookstore and fill them out with your family or friends (yes, they’re still around, and still very, very funny)
Rent or buy comedy tapes or CDs to listen to in the car
Search your local library or bookstore for humorous books that you can read aloud to your family each night
Play tapes or CDs of silly music and sing along (you can find plenty in the kids section of the music store)
Look for the humor in everyday experiences