They say laughter is the best medicine.
Can humor help heal your heart?

Are you getting enough?

It's said that kids laugh about 300 times a day but the typical adult laughs only 10 to 12 times a day.

When was the last time you laughed so hard and long that you had tears streaming down your face? When you just couldn't stop! When it was so infectious that others couldn't help but join you?

Health Benefits

Laughter is infectious. When you hear others, it generally makes you start laughing too.

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
Victor Borg

A commonly held belief is that joyous laughing and good humor can result in positive physical, psychological, and social benefits. I came across a related saying that says it all for me: "He who laughs, lasts".

A really good laugh increases your pulse and heart rate, supplies you with extra oxygen and ventilates your lungs, stimulates blood circulation, and helps ease muscle tension. It is said to provide the benefits of a light workout, stretching muscles throughout our face and body (I've laughed until my tummy muscles hurt, and my face felt like my smile was permanently plastered on!)

When you have a good laugh, a large mass of muscle tissue in your body is involved, producing a response that provides some bodily conditioning exercise. Dr. William Fry, who dedicated many years to the study of laughter, described it as a total body experience in which all the major systems of the body (muscles, nerves, heart, brain, and digestive system) participate fully.

It has been found to enhance the immune system. Bringing humor into your life as a coping style may have long term immune system benefits.

Laughing at Pain

Believe it or not, it can help dull pain. Numerous studies of people in pain or discomfort have found that their pain doesn't bother them as much when they are laughing. Many people have heard of Norman Cousins' groundbreaking accounts of the therapeutic effects of laughing during his treatment and recovery from ankylosing spondylitis.

His struggle with this illness is detailed in the book Anatomy of an Illness. Told he had little chance of surviving, Cousins developed a recovery program incorporating Vitamin C, a positive attitude, love, faith, hope, and finally, laughter induced by Marx Brothers films. He discovered that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give him at least two hours of pain-free sleep. Subsequently, Cousins formed a humor research task force to pursue studies of the connection between laughing and pain relief.

As a result, research has been conducted in order to examine the physiological changes and ramifications that result from mirthful laughter.

And here's an added bonus. It burns calories, too. Ok, it's minimal - 10 to 15 minutes of laughing burns 50 calories so you'd have to do an awful lot of giggling to lose any weight!

Healing with Humor

The movie Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams, profiled the work of Hunter D. Adams. He runs a medical center in Arlington, Virginia where he applies his unique philosophy that humor, joy, and creativity are an integral part of the healing process. His goal is to bring love, compassion and laughter to his patients.

Some hospitals now have humor rooms, comedy carts, or comedy video channels in recognition of humor as a healing tool.

The research into humour and healing is still not conclusive, but there is no doubt it won't hurt you, it will make your life more fun... and it just might help your heart too!

RX for laughter