healingways
Lighten Up!
Humor is FUNdamental to Good Health
by Paul mcghee
W
e all have a natural health and healing system published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology showed
within our body that is our biological inheri- that humor is heart-healthy, even if one has already ex-
tance, but which too many of us have forgotten perienced a heart attack. In the study, patients who had
how to use. It is our innate sense of humor. suffered heart attacks were randomly assigned to either a
Strong scientific evidence in multiple fields of research standard cardiac rehab program or the program plus the
now supports the view that humor plays a significant role viewing of a comedy video, three times a week for a year
in sustaining health. Humor’s many benefits to a great at the rehab site. During the year, the comedy video group
extent hinge on its ability to generate in us positive emo- had suffered fewer additional heart attacks and fewer
tions, even substituting a positive for a negative state in episodes of cardiac arrhythmia. They also had significantly
the presence of stress. A general agreement in the broad lower blood pressure than the control group.
field of psychoneuroimmunology (studying the interaction Another recent study in the peer review journal,
between psychological processes and the body’s nervous Heart, may provide an explanation for humor’s reported
and immune systems) is that emotion, boost to cardiac health. Here, research-
and its underlying physical changes in ers found that watching a comedy video
the body, is the key to understanding the
link between mind and body when it
Your sense of humor
significantly increased the diameter of a
major artery in the arm (vasodilation), while
comes to health. is one of the most watching a stress-inducing film reduced the
The earliest modern research on
powerful tools you
diameter of the artery (vasoconstriction).
humor and health, from the 1980s and This constrictive effect in response to stress
90s, first showed that a good dose of
have to make certain
is well established, and is known to result
humor works to strengthen the immune
that your daily mood
in increased blood pressure.
system and reduce pain. Results of 30 to
40 studies consistently demonstrate such
and emotional state
This relaxation effect at the arterial
level, in response to humor, is consistent
benefits. support good health. with the muscle relaxation effect that
A common claim for the reduced mounting evidence also associates with
pain associated with humor and laugh- humor. Muscle relaxation is the key goal of
ter attributes it to the production of all stress management techniques, because
endorphins (one of the body’s built-in pain reducers), yet it generally leads to the easing of psychological tensions.
only one study in the past 25 years supports this notion. Concurrently, several studies, published in such journals
The noted reduction in pain may rather be due to the as The Journal of Rheumatology and The American Journal
known muscle relaxation effect that results from humor and of the Medical Sciences, now also have documented a
laughter, or to humor’s power to mentally distract us from reduced level of stress hormones circulating in the blood
the source of pain. of study participants in response to humor.
One exciting new finding is how humor contributes The latest research on the relationship of humor to
to good cardiac health. More than a decade ago, a study health, underway in Japan, is now extending humor’s
16 Phoenix
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