Proving Old Truisms, Research Shows Laughter's Health Benefits

I laugh a lot. Always have. I’ve been lucky in my life to be surrounded by funny people; I love a good comedy; my kids are at times hilarious (my daughter singing a made-up song in the car one night had me shaking with delight – silently so as not to embarrass her); and sometimes I just have to laugh at life’s little quirks, good or bad, because they are so, well, quirky.

We’ve all heard the expression “laughter is the best medicine” and no doubt the framers of that saying were thinking of the boost laughter gives to our emotional well-being. But a growing body of research indicates there are even stronger physiological benefits to a good guffaw.

A study at the University of Maryland Medical Center measured the blood flow of volunteers who watched both funny and serious films. After volunteers watched – and laughed – through scenes from “There’s Something About Mary” their arteries expanded, increasing blood flow capacity. The opposite occurred when watching battle scenes from “Saving Private Ryan.” A further small one-year study found that heart attack patients who watched funny videos for thirty minutes a day were less likely to suffer a second attack than those who did not.

A small study of ten patients in Japan with Type 2 diabetes suggests that laughter may improve blood sugar control by regulating the immune system and preventing inflammation from undermining blood sugar levels. That same immune system response to laughter has been linked to reduced inflammation levels in people with rheumatoid arthritis; those with asthma and allergy symptoms have exhibited fewer flare-ups; and the production of disease-fighting T-cells may be stimulated.

If you’re looking to boost your weight loss program, researchers at Vanderbilt University discovered that 10 to 15 minutes of hearty laughter can increase your calorie expenditure by 10 to 40 calories per day. That adds up to 4 pounds a year. Imagine what you could burn off it you laughed even more.

Because the act of laughing contracts and relaxes muscles in the abdomen, face and shoulders it’s now also recognized that laughter might ease the muscle tension and spasms that contribute to pain. Much of the research on the connection between pain and laughter was spawned by the book Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins, who when diagnosed with a irreversible, crippling spinal disease, collaborated with his physician to harness his own laughter, courage and tenacity to heal himself – and beat the odds of the disease.

I’m amazed by the fact that four-year olds laugh about once every four minutes, while adults, on average, laugh about once an hour. With all the benefits, shouldn’t we be trying to laugh more? Even if you have nothing to laugh about, laugh often for no apparent reason. See if something good doesn’t come of it.

Tell me how laughter changes your outlook – post something in the comments!

Mary Porter is a nutrition and health counselor living in the Fort Hunt area. Her company, A Better Plate, teaches the art and practice of nourishment. You can email her at mary@betterplate.com