Illustration by Drew Shannon
We know, better than most, how difficult the news can be to digest. The endless stream of political conflicts, health crises and climate change feels understandably heavy day after day. But journalism has never been about just difficult topics, but instead, about equipping people with everything they need to know. That’s why today we’re introducing The Age of Breakthroughs, where we label material that will offer relief amid the torrent of negativity.
First up is a new monthly column by Thomas R. Verny, a psychiatrist, academic, writer, poet and podcaster. He formerly taught at Harvard University, the University of Toronto and York University, and is now based in Stratford, Ont. Dr. Verny has authored eight books, including the global bestseller The Secret Life of the Unborn Child and, most recently, The Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness and Our Bodies. He will be writing about cutting-edge research that promises to benefit our health and improve our lives.
Laughter has positive, quantifiable physiological and psychological effects. It can be used with preventive intent or as a complementary or alternative therapeutic option in the treatment of emotional as well as physical disorders. Whether used in a clinical setting, a laughing yoga group or in one’s home, laughter’s benefits are many and can contribute greatly to living life optimally.
Studies have shown that laughter can reduce stress hormones, increase endorphin production, boost the immune system and improve pain tolerance. Laughter can have a profound impact on a person’s physical and emotional health, leading to improved quality of life and, in some cases, even aiding in recovery from serious illness.
Mack Dryden is a two-time cancer survivor, professional comedian, actor and motivational speaker. He was first diagnosed with cancer around the time journalist Norman Cousins made headlines with his groundbreaking research into the healing power of laughter in the 1970s. Mr. Dryden took Mr. Cousins’s writings to heart and joked through his treatment because it was the smart, practical and definitely most fun thing to do.
As he once wrote, “I can’t think of a single situation where having a negative attitude and no sense of humour is the smart thing to do. There were so many arguments against being depressed and miserable that I decided to spread some Tumour Humour instead, and the rewards have been incalculable.” His advice, “If your life is touched by cancer, laughter should be part of your regular therapy.”
For a 1989 study, researchers at California’s Loma Linda University investigated the impact of laughter on 10 healthy male subjects. Five of them viewed a 60-minute humour video and five control subjects did not. Serial blood samples were then measured for the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine. Cortisol in the experimental group decreased more rapidly from baseline than the control group. Epinephrine levels in the experimental group were significantly lower than the control at all time points. Growth hormone levels in the experimental group significantly increased during baseline and then decreased with laughter intervention, whereas the controls did not change over time.
Essentially, what this study has demonstrated is that laughter helps to down-regulate the stress hormones. The researchers also discovered a link between laughter and the production of antibodies and endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers.
In 2006, scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that laughter causes the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to expand in order to increase blood flow, while stress has the opposite effect, constricting blood vessels and reducing blood flow. “The idea to study positive emotions such as laughter came about after studies had shown that mental stress caused blood vessels to constrict,” noted Dr. Michael Miller, professor of medicine and lead investigator.
In one of their studies, volunteers watched segments of a comedy on one day and on the next watched scenes from a war epic. Each volunteer served as their own control. Over all, more than 300 measurements were taken. When study volunteers watched the stressful movie, their blood vessel lining constricted, reducing blood flow. This finding confirms previous studies, which suggested there was a link between mental stress and the narrowing of blood vessels.
After watching the funny movie, however, the blood vessel lining expanded. “The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium after laughing was consistent and similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic exercise or statin use,” Dr. Miller wrote. The endothelium has a powerful effect on blood vessel tone and regulates blood flow, adjusts coagulation and blood thickening, and produces chemicals in response to injury and inflammation. It also plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease. In other words, laughter could decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Japanese geneticist and author Kazuo Murakami carried out an experiment in which people with diabetes went to a comedy show performed by top stand-up comedians after listening to a monotonous college lecture. The two-day experiment, as described in a 2006 paper, showed that the participants’ blood glucose levels dropped after they laughed compared with when they listened to a boring lecture.
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Other studies have shown that when we laugh, extra amounts of serotonin are naturally released in the gastrointestinal tract. Cardiac vagal tone, which represents the contribution of the parasympathetic nervous system to cardiac regulation, is improved. The parasympathetic system – rest and digest – is dialled up, the sympathetic nervous system – fight or flight – is dialled down. As a result, the immune system is powered up and you heal faster and are prone to less sickness.
Mental-health issues can vary enormously, but loneliness is often involved. Encouraging social laughter is therefore important. Laughter, accessible to all, presents itself as a free and easy way to support community mental health. The easiest way to laugh is in a group led by a person familiar with laughing techniques. For example, see the work of Steve Wilson, a psychologist from Ohio, who brought the concept of Laughter Clubs to the United States in the late 1990s. He trained thousands of laughter leaders in North America and beyond.
More health professionals should become familiar with how and when to prescribe laughter, urging patients who are stressed, depressed or suffering from a variety of chronic conditions to laugh more frequently.
Mary Kay Morrison, an active member and past president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor in the United States, recommends exploration of the benefits of humour and laughter for mental-health professionals. In recognition of the need for clarifying terminology, she coined the terms “humergy,” which is joyful, optimistic, healthy energy and “humordoomer,” which denotes a person who zaps that energy from us. Her work includes exploring the five stages of humour development as a significant factor in understanding cognitive development.
Eat your veggies, exercise, get vaccinated and have a good belly laugh every day.
Because the mind is not limited to the brain but dwells in the whole body, when the body feels good, the mind will feel good. Find joy in everyday moments, share a laugh with friends and embrace the healing power of laughter. After all, it’s one medicine that’s always in good supply, does not require a prescription and has not fallen victim to inflation.
Thomas R. Verny, MD is a clinical psychiatrist, academic, award-winning author, public speaker, poet and podcaster. He is the author of eight books, including the global bestseller The Secret Life of the Unborn Child and 2021′s The Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness and Our Bodies.