CLINICAL RESEARCH
SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT HUMOR IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
'You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.'
— Michael Pritchard
US STUDIES:
Humor and Laughter May Influence Health IV. Humor and Immune Function
NIH Reports: Humor and Laughter may Influence Health
National Institute of Health
Complementary Therapies and Humor in a Clinical Population
The use of humor as a complementary therapy within various clinical samples, as well as evidence concerning how a sense of humor influences physiological and psychological well-being
Indiana State University College of Nursing
Laughter is good for your heart
Michael Miller MD, Director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center says, “The old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart.”
University of Maryland Medical Center
Using laughter-provoking movies to gauge the effect of emotions on cardiovascular health, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels. Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow
University of Maryland Medical Center
New Study Proves That Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine
A little laughter can go a long way, a new study reveals
Loma Linda University
Laughing heartily may be good for the arteries
A daily dose of laughter may be good for the heart because, like exercise, it makes blood vessels work more efficiently
Duke University
How laughter influences health outcomes; including muscle tension, cardio-respiratory functioning and various stress physiology measures
University of South Florida
Social Laughter Triggers Endogenous Opioid Release in Humans
In a behavioral control experiment, pain threshold—a proxy of endogenous opioidergic activation—was elevated significantly more in both male and female volunteers after watching laughter-inducing comedy versus non-laughter-inducing drama in groups
Journal of Neuroscience
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES:
Laughter has an effect similar to antidepressants
Effect and Path Analysis of Laughter Therapy on Serotonin, Depression and Quality of Life in Middle-aged Women
Department of Nursing, Uiduk University, Korea
Laughter fosters brain connectivity
Laughter fosters rigorous brain region connectivity that kicks in when we hear a laugh, as our brains work to decipher what sort of communication is coming through
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
Social Laughter is Correlated with an Elevated Pain Threshold
This peer-reviewed study found: “Although laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proximate explanation for which might be the release of endorphins.”
British Academy Centenary Research Project
Assessment of the effectiveness of laughter therapy in preventing radiation dermatitis in patients with breast cancer
Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Laughter and Stress Relief in Cancer Patients: A Pilot Study
A South Korean study finds the effects of laughter on breast cancer patients and how it lowers depression, anxiety and stress
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Republic of Korea
Laughter Therapy on the Elderly
The Ethics Committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran conducted a study with 80 enrolled elderly folks, 60 years of age and older, and used laughter therapy in control groups twice a week for 90 minutes
Psychiatric Care Research Center, School of Nursing, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Laughter Prescription: The Future of Laughter in Medicine
The history and importance of the role of humor in medicine
College of Family Physicians of Canada