Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Real Health Benefits of Laughter

Much has been said on laughter being the best medicine; but can humor really help you improve your health?

Beyond the obvious "feel-good" properties of amusement and laughter that humor can have on a person's psychological health, humor has demonstrated physiological benefits as well. In the 13th century, Doctor Henri de Mondeville believed his patients recovered faster after surgery with a good dose of humor. In the 1903, psychologist William McDougall stated that laughter stimulated the cardiac and respiratory systems.

Today, the scientific study of laughter has expanded into its own field of research, called "gelotology," from the Greek word gelos, meaning "laughter." In the 1930s during the field's first scientific humor research studies, it was found that the initial effect of laughter is stimulatory. Laughter increases pulse and respiratory rates, then provides relaxation as it subsides. In the 1960s, Dr. William Fry found that laughter resulted in increased ventilation, muscle activity, minute volume, and forceful exhalation that could mobilize secretions.

After the 1960s, more research was conducted on the "mind-body connection": how our mental state significantly affects our physical health and well-being. From this, the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) study emerged. Evidence gathered from these studies proved that a mind-body connection exists, and that the mind and body communicate with one another through a bidirectional flow of hormones, cytokines, and neuropeptides. This bidirectional communication indicates that mood, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs truly impact a person's health and well-being.