Laughter: The Best Medicine

Have you ever asked yourself why you laugh the way you do or why you smile the way you do? Generally speaking, laughter has a two-step action on the physical body: Step one: it stimulates. Step two: it relaxes. During laughter, the body is stimulated and exercised. After laughter, the body relaxes and calms itself. Laughter is often, therefore, a most effective method for inducing physical and mental relaxation - laughter is a medicinal relaxant.

The relaxing effects of laughter, as discovered by medical research, include, lowering muscle tension, relaxed sympathetic nervous system, better circulation and a full, deep and healthy respiration pattern. In particular, humour, merriment and mirth are acknowledged as devices for discharging surplus nervous energy. According to modern research, laughter serves as a form of "safety-valve" for the body's energies.

Laughter is often a social signal for calm, for relaxation and for confidence. There is an old English proverb that says, "Laugh to let go" - laughter really can help us to let go of the physical, emotional and mental tensions. Indeed, the therapeutic benefits of one minute of genuine laughter is thought to be equivalent to approximately forty-five minutes of deep relaxation, according to one piece of recent research. For this reason, laughter is sometimes described as a form of internal massage.

Psychologists have posited over eighty different theories as to why we laugh. One major theory states that laughter has a profound effect on personal perception - we change the way we look at the world when we laugh. Therefore, one reason why we laugh is to change perceptions, alter perspective and create a new view. This is so important for successful stress control because, as the old saying goes, "People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them," Epictetus, 1st century, A.D.

Laughter is such a capable healer when it comes to stress - laughter can fizzle fear; laughter can help us to see the folly of our anxieties; laughter is often a wonderful release during times of mental tension; we laugh to increase our tolerance and understanding. Another major theory of laughter suggests that laughter is an act of liberation and self-superiority: as a medieval poet once penned, "Laughter takes us up, way up high; from a dark bottomless pit, to the fresh, clear blue sky".

For so long, the medical profession has tended to dismiss laughter as being something that merely makes people feel good. The whole point is, however, that "merely" making people feel good is an essential requirement of health, happiness and wholeness - when we feel well, we tend to be well. This is increasingly apparent with the advent of modern mind/body research, psychosomatic medicine and psychoneuroimmunology research.

Laughter is a medicine - it has tangible, physical effects as well as subtle, therapeutic emotional, mental and spiritual effects. The recent upsurge of medical research into mirth, merriment and laughter supports an holistic model for health that considers health to be supported and enhanced by a person's sense of happiness and wholeness. Learning to allow yourself to laugh, to smile, to play, to be joyful and to be happy are essential talents and skills that can create a more permanent foundation for well-being. Humour heals! So stop what you are doing now and laugh!