Benefits of laughter to help make pain disappear

That old adage about laughter being the best medicine is not far from the truth. When you have a good laugh, the pituitary gland releases chemicals, including endorphins, which act as the body’s natural painkillers.

You may know this story. Many years ago, journalist and author Norman Cousins suffered from a painful spinal disease. He discovered by chance that when he watched funny movies and laughed for at least 10 minutes, his pain receded for several hours, allowing him to get some sleep. He eventually regained his health and attributed much of that to laughter. Groucho Marx had the same idea when he said, "A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast."

Regular guffaws aren't miracle cures, but they have a real effect on the body. Immune cells and illness-fighting antibodies increase, stress hormones drop by as much as 70%, and the flow of blood and oxygen improves. So does pain tolerance. Laughter may also break the pain-spasm cycle common to some muscle disorders.

A recent study at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that when children were watching funny videos, they were much more able to tolerate the pain of submersing their hands in ice-cold water, and their stress hormones levels fell to boot. Those who laughed the most remembered their pain the least.

Of course, not everyone is a wild chuckler, especially when in pain. That need not matter. Experts say that laughter can be faked until it's real.

1. Start with simulated laughter and even if you don't feel like laughing, the simulation will soon grown into authentic laughter.
2. Practice laughter yoga, a combined breathing and laughing exercise developed in India. Start by practicing laughter sounds: hee hee, ho ho, ha ha. Practice this laughing exercise with others. If one person starts really laughing and then another, it becomes contagious and spreads.
3. Another exercise suggested by doctors is for two people to pretend they are meeting for the first time and as they reach towards each other to shake hands, instead of saying, "How do you do?", they say, "Heeheeheehee." It's so absurd that the laughter will soon become real.

The idea that laughter is good for the body has been around for thousands of years. Some people believe that the benefit of a diversionary tactic, that it takes the patient's mind off the pain. Whether laughter works as pain relief for you or not, it does keep away negative emotions such as anxiety and depression that tend to weaken the immune system.