Fill your prescription with laughter

Vibrant Life, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Richard O'Ffill

Imagine phoning your doctor and hearing him say, "Watch two comedy videos and call me in the morning." This prescription is not as farfetched as it may seem. In fact, it's based on some of the latest medical research and even a text of Scripture. Proverbs 17:22 proclaims, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Some years ago, Dr. Lee Berk and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley Tan, of Lorna Linda University in California, studied the effects of laughter on the immune system. The results were published in the September/October 1996 issue of Humor and Health Journal. The researchers discovered that laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon, and B-cells that produce disease-destroying antibodies. They reported that laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces an overall sense of well-being.

It's not surprising that, since laughter has been so effective in recovery of illness, many hospitals have created humor rooms and humor carts. Still others have installed cable TV carrying comedy channels. Some even employ clowns to make rounds each day.

Laughter is not only beneficial to individual health, but it can have a positive effect on the whole family as well. When we laugh together, we form a connection. Shared merriment encourages understanding, facilitates communication, and builds a spirit of harmony.

In families with young children, humor can defuse what would otherwise be emotionally charged issues, thus encouraging balanced disciplinary measures. Where there's humor, there's more likely to be a spirit of cooperation. Laughter, it seems, is a win/win situation.

Here are some other arguments for a good case of the giggles: Laughter helps us bond with each other, increases our energy levels, enables us to remember things better, assists us in problem solving, and helps fight stress. Laughter is even great exercise. Someone once described it as taking your insides for a jog. Letting loose with 100 deep belly guffaws is equal to spending 10 minutes on a rowing machine or 15 minutes on a stationary bike.

Some years ago, author and editor Norman Cousins used the positive emotions of faith, hope, laughter, and joy to counteract the effects of a stressful lifestyle that, he believed, had brought on an illness. He decided to treat his disease by watching comedies several times each day--thus creating ample opportunities to laugh. His idea worked so well that he recovered completely from Ankylosing Spondylitis (even the name of the disease sounds painful).

His experience aroused the curiosity of the medical community, and he was invited to teach at USCL Medical Center. Later he coordinated the research efforts of scientists across the United States. A summary of their findings was published in a book, Head First: The Biology of Hope and the Healing Power of the Human Spirit.

Have you ever watched children at play and noticed how easily and heartily they laugh? Studies reveal that kids laugh an estimated 300-400 times a day, while we mature adults get amused only about 15 times during the same amount of hours.

I once visited a war-torn refugee camp and was appalled at the blank, hopeless expressions on the faces of even the young people. As much-needed aid was distributed, it was the children who first began to laugh and play. Perhaps we older folk take ourselves too seriously. I'm not suggesting that we must laugh 400 times a day, but I think many of us could do better than we do. As a matter of fact, the healthiest kind of humor is when we laugh at ourselves. If you're like me, you easily provide yourself with more than enough material.

The story is told of a man who was feeling depressed. Suddenly a voice said, "Cheer up, things could be worse." The man later confessed that he cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse!

We'll probably find the opposite to be true. Though circumstances may not be to our liking, cultivating the ability to see things in a lighter vein will go a long way toward improving our physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Many of us would feel better if we'd just lighten up and laugh.

Our Great Physician made sure that a good sense of humor was free to all who were willing to avail themselves of it. Why not allow its healing powers to improve your health and happiness? Laughter is contagious. Be a carrier!

Richard O'Ffill writes from Longwood, Florida. where he can be heard chuckling to himself each and every day.