Hey Insurance Companies — Is Laughter Really The Best Medicine?
When I was young, I was the victim of many growing pains. For those of you who are unaware to my height, I am 6′ 3″ — and five of those inches were added over the span of just six months. Full of pain from both growing and from walking into walls as I began to navigate around in my new and elongated body, I was told by some family members to make jokes about it; that if I joked about my pain, the laughter would be the best medicine. So I did, and it kind of worked!
But is laughter actually the best medicine?
Carl Reiner, one of my comedy heroes, firmly believes that laughter has contributed to his longevity. After turning 97 last year, he said that “Laughter is my first priority. I watch something every night that makes me laugh. I wake up and tickle myself while I’m still in bed. There is no greater pleasure than pointing at something, smiling and laughing about it. I don’t think there is anything more important than being able to laugh. When you can laugh, life is worth living. It keeps me going. It keeps me young.”
On a physiological level, laughter increases oxygen intake to the heart, lungs, and muscles while also stimulating the brain to release more endorphins. It also strengthens the immune system. Our idea of laughter as medicine actually is looking pretty reliable!
On a much less scientific level, laughter distracts from pain and provides ill individuals with a sense of control when they feel the most powerless. In fact, it’s actually the patients who end up making most of the jokes!
Edward Creagan, professor of medical oncology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, has said that “some of the funniest patients [he has] ever met were those dying of cancer or struggling with alcoholism.” One woman with breast cancer’s wit was extremely present in her final few weeks:
“I asked her why this was important to her right now,” Creagan recalls. “She said: ‘I can max out all my husband’s credit cards, so there’ll be nothing left for the second wife.’”
There was even a huge 15-year study of over 50,000 participants a few years ago in Norway that found that humor can delay or even prevent certain life-threatening diseases.
So what does this all mean? Should doctors start prescribing ‘three jokes a day’ to sick patients instead of pharmaceutical medicine?
Probably not — or at least, I wouldn’t recommend seeking out a clown doctor. But once again, we have found that joking is an essential and critical part of a life well lived.
Also, if any of my readers are members of insurance companies, this doesn’t mean that you can cover laughter but not, you know, actual medicine.
Sources:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-mindfulness-the-health-benefit-of-laughter/
