Research
SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT HUMOR IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
The use of humor as a complementary therapy within various clinical samples, as well as evidence concerning how a sense of humor influences physiological and psychological well-being.
Indiana State University College of Nursing
In a behavioral control experiment, pain threshold-a proxy of endogenous opioidergic activation-was elevated significantly more in both male and female volunteers after watching laughter-inducing comedy versus non-laughter-inducing drama in groups.
Journal of Neuroscience
Effect and Path Analysis of Laughter Therapy on Serotonin, Depression and Quality of Life in Middle-aged Women.
Department of Nursing, Uiduk University, Korea
The history and importance of the role of humor in medicine.
College of Family Physicians of Canada
Chapman University led a study of 30 healthcare providers over 30 days. Results showed that after watching just one comedy video, they were 13% less stressed in only 3 minutes.
Chapman University Press Room
This peer-reviewed study found: “Although laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proximate explanation for which might be the release of endorphins.
British Academy Centenary Research Project
Linda University set out to find out if humor can deliver more than just comic relief. Participants who viewed the funny videos had much higher improvement in recall abilities, and the humor group showed considerably lower levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone,” after watching the
videos.
Loma Linda University
Laughter fosters rigorous brain region connectivity that kicks in when we hear a laugh, as our brains work to decipher what sort of communication is coming through.
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
NIH Reports: Humor and Laughter may Influence Health.
National Institute of Health
How laughter influences health outcomes; including muscle tension, cardio-respiratory functioning and various stress physiology measures.
University of South Florida
A daily dose of laughter may be good for the heart because, like exercise, it makes blood vessels work more efficiently.
Duke University
Intuitively we know that laughter is one of the best tools we have to deal with stress, but can science prove it? Several areas of research demonstrate the effect of humor on physiological and biochemical responses, as well as psychological processes in the body. This video lists reasons why laughter may be the best medicine. Copyright McMaster University 2018.
