Michael Abrahams | Humour, laughter and health

We have all heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine”. While laughter alone will not adequately treat something like a heart attack, it can play an important role in recovery and long-term well-being following the event. 

In fact, laughter can be considered a form of medicine because it helps improve well-being. Health includes physical, mental, and social well-being, not just the absence of disease, and research shows that laughter positively affects all three aspects of our health.

Having a sense of humour helps us cope, because living on this planet can be very stressful. There is much anger, hostility, violence and injustice, and traditional and social media expose us to much of this negativity. 

However, humour and the laughter that often accompanies it help ease tension and stress. And laughter is ubiquitous, though what people find funny is influenced by socialisation, culture, personality, intelligence, education, religious beliefs, and other factors.

Is there objective evidence that humour and laughter benefit our health? Definitely. Let’s begin with mental health.

MENTAL WELL-BEING

It is obvious that humour and laughter help your mental health. For instance, having a sense of humour helps you to be resilient and cope with adversity. And, if you feel low or sad, laughing can boost your mood. How does it achieve this? When you laugh, your brain produces endorphins, which are natural, feel-good chemicals that bind to the same receptors as morphine, a drug that can cause euphoria, and, by doing so, they elevate your mood. They achieve this effect by interacting with the brain's reward centres, elevating your state of mind. In fact, the word "endorphin" is a combination of the words "endogenous" (meaning produced within the body) and "morphine”.

Endorphins also trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, and motivation, while laughter also boosts the release of serotonin in the brain. This natural "happy chemical" stabilises your mood, regulates your sleep, and eases feelings of anxiety. What is interesting to note is that antidepressants work by manipulating the levels of these chemicals to varying extents to elevate mood. As a result, laughter has been incorporated into mental health therapies such as cognitive behaviour therapy, or CBT, to manage depression and anxiety. Laughter yoga (Hasya yoga) is another therapeutic practice that utilises laughter by combining intentional laughter with deep yogic breathing.

SOCIAL WELL-BEING

Humour and laughter definitely have positive effects on social well-being. Laughter is a communicative tool that helps us bond with others, making us feel closer and more connected. Laughter is also contagious, and research has found that we are 30 times more likely to laugh in groups than when we are alone. And laughing with others can also synchronise physiological rhythms, such as heart rate and breathing (bio-behavioural synchrony), creating a subconscious state of attunement, security, connection, and empathy. Humour and laughter are also great ways to ease tension and de-escalate volatile situations. Some police forces train their officers to utilise humour as a de-escalation tactic, to break tension, distract someone in distress, and reduce hostility.

Humour is also of value in relationships. People tend to be drawn to those who are jovial and have a good sense of humour. In intimate relationships, however, there are gender differences regarding the roles humour and laughter play. For example, research has found that women are more attracted to men who make them laugh. Men, on the other hand, are more attracted to women who find them funny and laugh at their jokes.

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

Humour and laughter positively affect us physically, too. For instance, when you laugh heartily, deep breaths of oxygen-rich air force stale air out of the lungs and expand the air sacs (alveoli), increasing blood oxygen levels. Laughter also improves circulation by dilating blood vessels and temporarily increasing heart rate, mimicking the effects of light physical exercise. A good bout of laughter can lower your blood pressure by 3 to 4 per cent. So laughter helps to protect your heart.

Numerous studies have shown that laughter can significantly reduce pain. In one study, surgical patients who watched funny videos before and after surgery needed fewer painkillers than those who did not. This happens because endorphins, the levels of which are boosted by laughter, not only elevate mood but also reduce pain, like morphine, which is one of the most potent painkillers. Endorphins also block the production of Substance P, a chemical that carries pain signals from the spinal cord. A good bout of laughter can induce muscle relaxation lasting for up to 45 minutes, and this may also assist with pain relief.

Laughter may help lower blood sugar levels, with studies showing reductions in diabetics after laughing, and it also strengthens the immune system by lowering stress hormones like cortisol and increasing infection-fighting antibodies and immune cells, including T-cells and natural killer (NK) cells, strengthening your body’s ability to fight infections. Laughter may even improve fertility. In a study of women undergoing in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), one group rested in a quiet room after embryo transfer while another was entertained by a clown. The clown group had a 16 per cent higher success rate.

Since humour and laughter positively affect all aspects of our health, it is not surprising that people who have a good sense of humour and laugh frequently are more likely to live longer and age more healthily than those who do not. Humour and laughter are indeed good for your health. So, lighten up. Look on the bright side of life. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Watch funny videos. Be in the company of funny people. Just laugh.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator, and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X @mikeyabrahams