Is Laughter the Best Medicine...Really?
Most of us have heard the saying,
“laughter is the best medicine.” Laughter makes us feel good,
makes us relaxed and comfortable. It helps us with bonding and its
role in relationships is outwardly.
But many people believe that laughter
has a very significant role in our health; that laughter is not just
important psychologically but physiologically. Supposedly it has been
linked to the reduction of pain and tolerating pain and discomfort.
Popular belief is that laughter has been linked to help with
creativity and even problem solving.
The popular belief is that humor and
laughter have a very significant role in our health. A “study”
has been noted by Psychology Today that shows evidences of how
“laughter helps our blood vessels function better.”
According
to the article: Laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels
(the endothelium) to expand and thus increase the blood flow...as the
article put it, “[Laughter] is good for your heart and brain.”
But
is this true? Does laughing really induce all these positive
physiological effects on our bodies? Is laughing really as
significant to our health as the popular science claims it to be?
The
answer is..well, we don't know.
A
study has shown that the role of laughter in our bodies' physiology
is very inconclusive, (Martin, 2002).
The
study collected empirical evidence of the beneficial effects of
laughter on the following categories: immunity, pain tolerance, blood
pressure, longevity and illness symptoms (Martin, 2002). However,
with more through and methodological research there can be more clear
results.
But
wait! There's more! A twist.
Another
study shows that laughter has adverse affects instead of beneficial
ones!
Children
with a common asthma were examined to determine whether mirthful
emotions such as laughter and excitement triggered the symptoms of
their asthma. With a p value of = 0.01 it was determined that
mirthful emotions actually triggered symptoms of asthma (Liangas,
2003).
So
in this case, laughter is most definitely not the best medicine...as
it makes the children symptomatic and much worse than before.
Laughter's
role as a benefit to our health is not well determined however, it's
adverse role in asthma is. Perhaps with more rigorous and through
research we can determine it's precise role to our physiology and
health.
Image:
References:
2) Martin
R. Is
Laughter the Best Medicine? Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health.
2002. Curr Dir Psychol Sci.11 no.
6216-220
doi: 10.1111/1467-8721.00204
3) Liangas
G, Morton RJ, Henry LR. Mirth-triggered
asthma: Is laughter really the best medicine?
2003.
Pedi Pulmon2:(36) 107-112. doi 10.1002/ppul.10313
I really wanted to find something to the contrary, because I find it sad that there was evidence that laughter was actually bad medicine.
ReplyDeleteRather, I found evidence that another person's laughter can actually evoke fear in others (associated with mental disorders like social phobia). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3364988/
And, laughter can induce fainting through autonomic reflex arches that result in decreased blood flow throughout the brain. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22314146.
Alas, I did find that laughter yoga had effects on heart rate variability and mood in patients awaiting transplant surgery (but not on blood pressure or heart rate). So, perhaps we can't quite rule out laughter as medicine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22894892.
I think there just has to be more conclusive reasearch on the affects of laughter, by conducting more through research and with more technical research methods to obtain better and more conclusive results. I am sure there is many postive affects to our physiology due to laughter otherwise why do we laugh? It seems really gloomy that the main results are on the negative affects of laughter.
DeleteThis is very interesting since I have never considered or heard of the negative effects of laughter before (except for sore intercostal and abdominal muscles). JJ's comment about laughter yoga especially grabbed my attention. Having taken many yoga classes, I know that laughing during a normal yoga class, or making any sort of noise not associated with breathing, is strictly not allowed since it has the potential to disrupt classmates' Savasana (relaxation). I did some research on laughter yoga and was surprised to discover that there are over 400 laughter yoga clubs in the US alone, and even more in India where it was invented by physician Dr. Madan Kataria (http://laughteryoga.org). I also learned that the laughter in these classes is evoked artificially (instead of by humor) through laughing exercises and deep breathing. This led me to wonder if this "fake" laughter has different health benefits compared to the ones Hiba described for genuine laughter.
ReplyDeleteI found a study that examined simulation laughter and found that it produces similar positive health effects as genuine laughter (Ripoll, 2011). Because of these results, the study suggests that although further research needs to be conducted, simulated laughter could be used in traditional clinical settings for therapeutic purposes. One example of a therapeutic approach is with elderly Alzheimer's patients who may not be able to fully understand humor. Simulated laughter can work as an easily accessible exercise source for these patients (http://laughteryoga.org).
Source:
Ripoll, R. (2011). Potential health benefits of simulated laughter: A narrative review of the literature and recommendations for future research. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 19(3), 170-177.
Fake vs genuine laughter?! I think that would be interesting to see what the different effects would be( if any!) I think that would be an interesting phys research project.
DeleteOn the topic of things that humans do on an every day basis that have health benefits, many studies have shown that intimacy has many benefits. I am not even talking about intercourse intimacy, something as simple as an embrace with a lover can lower blood pressure. One study showed that couples who held each other’s hands for 10 minutes and then hugged for 20 seconds had better reactions to stressful situations. They had: lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and smaller heart rate increases. I have even heard of studies that show an increase in pain tolerance just by thinking about your significant other.
ReplyDeleteGrewen KM, Anderson BJ, Girdler SS, Light KC. Warm partner contact is related to lower cardiovascular reactivity. Behavioural Medicine, 2003;29:123-30.