Benefits of Laughter

Children wise beyond their years laugh approximately 300 times a day. Now the depressing statistic—adults laugh approximately 15 times a day.

Unlike the tasty, yet detrimental affects of cheeseburgers and milkshakes, enjoying a moderation of laughter can actually disrupt the body’s natural healing mechanism. So keep laughing—and keep healing.

Don’t take our word for it. There’s scientific research behind this:

Laughter can stimulate major physiologic systems of the body. Studies by Dr. William Fry, Stanford University, show light-hearted, carefree laughter helps:

• you get good physical exercise
• you decrease chances of respiratory infections
• your body produces endorphins [those amazing painkillers!]

Laughter can help your heart.
Heart attack patients at Loma Linda University Medical Center were all treated with standard medical care—but half also watched humorous videos for 30-minutes a day. After one year, that group:

• had fewer arrhythmias
• had lower blood pressure
• had lower levels of stress hormones
• required lower doses of medication
• had only 20% recurrent heart attack rate, compared to 50% in the control group

Ten minutes of mirthful laughter gave a patient two hours of pain-free sleep.
In his Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins described his potentially fatal disease and how he discovered humor and other positive emotions helped him battle away the symptoms.

And this is just the beginning. Researchers worldwide are publishing proven links between laughter and stress reduction, healing, pain control, immunity boosting and even the ability to fight tumor cells in some cancer patients.

So laughter really can be the best medicine—and should be a part of every treatment plan!