Laughter Is the Best Medicine

The Guardian carries a piece on Laughter really is the best medicine.

scientists have proved what everyone else takes for granted - that laughter really is good for you. It turns out that even the anticipation of watching a funny video can raise the levels of immune-boosting hormones in the blood and the benefits can last up to a day.

There are well established health benefits for laughter and for positive emotions associated with it. More technically, in this study, the researcher established that:

the anticipation of a laughter eustress [positive stress] event initiates changes in neuroendocrine response prior to the onset of the event itself...From our prior studies, this modulation appears to be concomitant with mood state changes, and taken together, these would appear to carry important, positive implications for wellness, disease-prevention and most certainly stress-reduction.

All of which is as maybe. Doesn't scheduling time with laughter to improve the workings of our immune systems and overall well-being sound more enjoyable than most other interventions? I would hope that regular laughter sessions might be a lifestyle modification that most people were willing to adopt and practise regularly. We have nothing to give up but a sense of our seriousness and some perspectives that might stop us from enjoying our lives as much as we can, or enjoying the well-being that is open to us.

Copyright 2006, Tony Plant Happystance Project