Is laughter really the best medicine? Some researchers think so. Other than its obvious emotional effects, a good chuckle may also have health benefits.
Laughter provides a form of exercise for the body and stimulates the release of beneficial brain neurotransmitters and hormones. A good dose of laughter can be as simple as watching a funny movie or remembering a funny situation. Unfortunately, adults tend to laugh less often as they grow older.
A study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore shows that laughing may help prevent heart attacks and heart disease.
The study consisted of participants who had a history of a heart attack or coronary artery bypass surgery and participants who never had heart disease. When a questionnaire was used to determine how much the participants laughed in particular situations, people with a history of heart disease generally laughed less and even displayed more signs hostility.
Furthermore, new evidence is showing that laughter helps the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to relax and expand. This increases the blood flow to the heart and brain, which require oxygen carried by hemoglobin molecules in the blood.
Even if laughter does not provide direct benefits, it lessens the effects of mental stress.
According to Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, mental stress impairs the endothelium and leads to inflammatory reactions. This can result in fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and eventually to a heart attack.
Geneticist Kazuo Murakami of Japan believes that laughter can trigger certain genes in the human body. His findings in a recent experiment show 23 genes that can be potentially activated, some of which are involved with the human immune response.
In a two-day experiment conducted by Murakami in Japan, blood glucose levels of diabetics were compared after a comedy show performed by stand-up comedians and after a monotonous college lecture. The experiment revealed lower glucose levels after the diabetics laughed at the comedy show in contrast to the lecture.
Some college students find laughter helpful in other ways. For instance, it can help a student tolerate stress from school work and exams.
"I know that I personally adhere to the strategy of laughing excessively to help unload the pressures of Hopkins. When you get frustrated at yourself, schoolwork or other people ... sometimes it's just more fun to make fun of everything and laugh as much as possible," junior art history major Jennifer Snodgrass said.
After a moment, Snodgrass added, "I would say I believe that laughter and alcohol are the best medicines for relaxation at Hopkins!"
Junior philosophy major Bergin Ulgen also believed "laughter and jokes are necessary to survive a stressful environment like Johns Hopkins. It definitely helps me handle the daily stresses of life."
Other students feel that laughing with friends helps when they are sick or having a bad day.
Cameron Granger, a sophomore Film and Media Studies major agrees. "There's nothing more medicinal than a spontaneous bout of hysteria, especially when it's spent with friends."
