By Andrea Steere
news@joplinglobe.com
Laughter can improve your health and stave off heart attacks? Is this a joke?
According to a medical study from the University of Maryland, the effect of laughter on health is no laughing matter.
The act of laughing has been found to help with stress, pain, the immune system and many other issues, according to the study. And local doctors agree.
Dr. Keir Nieghmond, Freeman Urgent Care physician, said that laughter increases blood flow, the intake of oxygen and lowers stress levels, all of which boosts the immune system. Blood pressure is also affected by laughter, Nieghmond said.
“This tends to help when we’re under stress,” Nieghmond said. “I’m not sure that laughter reverses cardiovascular disease, but (the University of Maryland) study found that laughter tends to help.”
The study, researched by the University of Maryland Medical Center, found that those with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh than people of the same age without heart disease. The study concluded that laughter and an active sense of humor help prevent heart attacks.
Phillip Bowman, a milieu therapist at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, said that laughter increases endorphins — natural pain killers — in the brain.
“These endorphins work on physical and emotional pain,” Bowman said. “Besides making you feel better, laughter also helps you focus.”
Dr. Annette Goodheart, internationally recognized laughter therapist and author of “Laughter Therapy: How to Laugh About Everything in Your Life That Isn’t Really Funny,” shared her own experience with the power of laughter and endorphins.
“Once I broke my rib and had to teach my first laughter class the next day and laughed anyway,” Goodheart said. “Then I experienced two hours pain free.”
Goodheart’s rib-wincing experience is backed up by doctors, who suggest that laughter goes a long way toward helping a body heal.
“(Those who laugh more) have better outcomes in surgery,” Bowman said. “Even the death rate can drop.”
Dr. Ron Sterling, a psychiatrist from Seattle who maintains Web sites such as www.LaughterGood.com, told David Zizzo of The Oklahoman that laughter helps make people more “flexible and resilient,” psychologically speaking. The ability to laugh easily is one of the things that helps keep people mentally healthy.
Laughter is a chemical process and a rebalancing of the chemicals in the body, Goodheart said. She also wants people to know they shouldn’t be afraid to laugh and lose some control.
To start laughing again, follow laughter’s lead. Laughter causes temporary loss of control, Goodheart said, so feel free to lose it and just laugh.
Just remember that there is a difference between laughter, which babies can do, and a sense of humor, she said.
“Belief systems about laughter make us think you need a reason,” Goodheart said. “And there’s the belief that you need to be happy to laugh, but happiness comes from laughter. If you believe that (you need to be happy) you wouldn’t laugh.”
Nieghmond and Bowman both advise being with friends to induce laughter as well as funny movies and television shows, whichever you prefer.
“If you tend to respond to situations with laughter you’re more relaxed,” Nieghmond said. “Getting upset lowers your immunity.”
Although laughter is not a cure, it relieves stress and temporarily helps many other parts of the body.
“We don’t know how much our attitude affects our health,” Goodheart said, “but I have a feeling it’s pretty big.”
