Humors Healing Power

It is not joke that humor can ease Pain. More and more doctors, nurses, and health care worker believe in the healing power of humor. Medical research has shown that laughter can improve physical and mental health as well as cure various diseases. Don’t worry if you think you are not into humor because both spontaneous and stimulated laughter have equal healing powers. Read on to find out more about what the therapeutic benefit of humor are and how it can heal illness.

A lot of medical studies have shown the healing power of humor. Lee Berk, M.D.’s years of study has proven that laughter has significant role in fighting viruses, bacteria, cancer, and heart diseases . In his book, health, healing, and the amuse system, Dr Paul E. McGhee wrote that laughter lowers blood pressure and stress hormones in the blood. “it also reduces pain and strengthens the immune system. The natural killer cells in the body increase in number and become active. They seek and destroy tumor cells, “added McGhee. Lisa T. Wessan, a certified social worker, stated that laughter increase oxygen supply to the brain and improves memory and cognition. In addition, it relaxes muscle, releases toxins and stress, and helps people to cope. Laughter can also provide cardiovascular benefits. William Fry Jr.,M.D., a psychiatrist from Stanford University, Found that 15 minutes laughter equals 10 minutes on a rowing machine and 15 minutes on a stationary bike in reaching the same hearth pulse rate. Laughter is good as exercise.


Considering the benefits of laughter to our health, we need to learn to laugh at ourselves or at least to see in humor in difficult situations. Unfortunately, our daily life does not always give us enough reason to laugh. Continuous stress also seem to make some people forget how to laugh. Some others just do not have sense of humor.

Most of us do not know that healing power of humor originates not only from spontaneous but also from stimulated laughter. Both of kinds of laughter are always effective . this is exactly the reason why some people join laughter or comedy clubs. There are about 1.3000 of them all over the world . These clubs aim at helping people learn how to stimulate laughter anytime they need to “laughing together without reason for healthy life” is a concept promoted by the followers of laughter therapy. A typical laughter session does not even involve jokes. It requires people simply to laugh , stretch their body, and do various breathing exercises. In this session the participants do not have to laugh their heads off, a simple giggle of chuckle will do. Even mere anticipation of laughing could help. In one of his researches, Berk tested 16 healthy men. Only half of the men were told that in three days time they would see a comedy video. The members of this group experienced a drop in stress hormones and an increase in chemical that benefit the immune system . These changes became even more noticeable as it got closer to show time.

So are you in need of spirit and health boost without a prescription? Then laugh more because laughter is important to your well-being as frequent exercise, good nutrition, and enough rest and remember what William James, a spiritual psychologist, once said, ”We don’t laugh because we’re happy, but we’re happy because we laugh.”

Adapted from
Lorilyn Rackl, “But seriously Folks…,” Reader’s Digest, September 2003, pp 62-71
Rusty Wright, laugh a little: its good for your health ,http://www.ndaylynews.com