Can laughter really help you get better?

Question

I am doing a science project in school, and i was wondering whether laughter or any other psychologically pleasing emotion, can actually help you heal faster.
If you find any information please state your sources.

Answer 1

Laughter IS the best medicine

Answer 2

I can only speak from my own experience. Laughter does help me every single day! I had a stroke ten years ago caused by stress and have a condition of epilepsy. Some people think I'm crazy, but I know better! Laughter does heal! If I had not laughed when the neuro told me I had a tumor of the brain ten years ago and decided to laugh it out until I had pain... Which did not arrived yet! And I learned last year there is no tumor! ( The doctor had mistakened the blood clot from the stroke for a tumor...This is what I think! And I had signed to get an operation !...The surgeon did not want to touch it and here I am today. Where would I be now if I had panicked instead of laughing ?... Every day, I find something to laugh about... Even at myself !... There is a movie about this phenomena that came out a few years ago with Robin Williams! I can't recall the title of the movie though.

Good luck in finding what you are searching for.

I'm only an ordinary person but I do know Laughter does help the healing process from my own experience.

Happy new year to you

Answer 3

Milton Berle (who was way back beyond your time) once said, "Laughter is an instant vacation." I take that to be true. There was also a recent article in the paper about how giving to others makes certain parts of the brain light up parts of the scope (you'll have to find that citing yourself). Laughter and giving are both pleasing, and bring much light to the ones who give, as well as the ones who hear it or feel it. And try healing without it! I've been through genital surgery, emergency appendectomy, and other assorted problems, and believe me, without laughter, I would have died long ago. And you can add on to all that that I'm manic-depressive, and believe me when you hit the depressive part of that cycle, laughter saves your life. I do believe you could find all kinds of sources that support that on the Web. Obviously, most of my sources I've talked about here consist of myself, except the study I mentioned above. And never ever forget the endorphins released by chocolate! What's really funny is that when I was trapped in a blizzard in colorado, and I tripped over an extension ladder and split my ear into two parts, ripped open my thigh, and broke my nose, and the only option was to laugh. And I'm healing up just fine! So yes, laughter helps healing--and besides, it makes you feel good.

Answer 4

Laughter does help me every single day! I had a stroke ten years ago caused by stress and have a condition of epilepsy. Some people think I'm crazy, but I know better! Laughter does heal! If I had not laughed when the neuro told me I had a tumor of the brain ten years ago and decided to laugh it out until I had pain... Which did not arrived yet! And I learned last year there is no tumor! ( The doctor had mistakened the blood clot from the stroke for a tumor...This is what I think! And I had signed to get an operation !...The surgeon did not want to touch it and here I am today. Where would I be now if I had panicked instead of laughing ?... Every day, I find something to laugh a

Answer 5

Laughter or any other psychologically pleasing emotions can heal our mental man faster than administering oral medication. Laughter is medicine to the mind or soul as food or nutrient is medicine to the body. As the saying goes: desperate needs, need desperate actions so likewise desperate emotional wounds will need desperate emotional healing process to alleviate them. These healing process could be by watching an hilarious movies, going to watch the comedian live on stage, going to a new environment for a change to meet new and interesting people,going to the beach, visiting a psychologist and above all keeping a positive attitude about life which can keep one going and heals all wounds.
Don`t get me wrong? Not because laughter helps healing doesn`t mean with any little wound you go around every where laughing like a mad man/woman. Peolple will actually think you`ve started taking crack!
Hope the above relieves you a bit! Bounafortuna... Ciao

Answer 6

Laughing actually releases endorphins, which is a neurotrasmitter that creates a sense of good mood and well being. It actually does not only that, but it also helps your immune system. Exercise as well as eating are other things that releases this neurotrasmitter

"laughter stimulates the body's natural painkillers and "feel good" enhancers, known as endorphins, helping relieve stress and heal the body."

"When Norman Cousins was diagnosed with the debilitating illness ankylospondylitis, the doctors told him they could no longer help him and that he would live in excruciating pain befor ehe died. Cousins checked into a hotel room and rented every funny movie he could find: the Marx Brothers, AIrplane, The three stooges, etc. He watched and rewatched them over and over, laughing as hard and loud as he could. After six months of this self0inflicted laughter therapy, the doctors were amazed to find that his illness had been completely cured - the disease was gone!"

"Endorphins are chemicals released from the brain when you laugh. They have a similar chemical composition to morphine and heroin and have a tranquilizing effect on the body, while building the immune system. This explains why happy people rarely get sick and miserable but complaining people often seem to be ill."

Answer 7

I have no written documentation to prove that laughter really
helps one to get better but I certainly feel I have concrete
evidence in the way I feel when I am enjoying laughter or
whatever. I feel I could almost be called an expert because I
am almost 74 years old and have had everything under the
sun wrong with me (heart attack, asthma, etc) and spending a
short time enjoying a funny book or a joke always makes me
feel on top of the world and that I can face whatever it is I have
to go through next. I hope this is some help to you and Good
Luck with your science project.

Answer 8

I'm not entirely sure if laughter can make you heal from an illness faster, but it definitely makes you happier. In fact, even just smiling when you're down will make you happier. When you use the muscles in your face that enable you to smile, your brain releases endorphins, which make you happier. So in essence, when you smile, you're convincing your brain that you're happy--and once your brain is convinced, you actually do become happier. What laughter does is that it adds another element to the mix, by increasing your oxygen intake, which can also make you happier. I can't state my source off the top of my head, because I learned all this from my AP Psychology textbook during my senior year of high school. Try looking at Lester Sdorow's psychology textbook though, because I know it had a lot of the same information. You might want to check my spelling of his name, too. Good luck!

Answer 9

Absolutely.
I work in a hospital, and from personal experience, I can tell you that those patients who can keep a good sense of humor during their stay usually recover faster from their illness or injury. Also, though I can't cite any definitive source for you, I have heard of some hospitals actually providing cartoons for adult patients in order to get them to laugh. Laughter has several health benefits: it makes you breathe more, which increases the level of oxygen in the bloodstream. That can promote faster healing. Laughter also burns calories, which is good for patients who are bedridden by their illness and cannot exercise. Also, laughter releases endorphines, which can help to improve a patient's mood. With a good attitude, patients can rest easily as their body is not under physical stress, such as a fast heart rate or increased blood pressure, caused by mental stress. And as everyone knows, rest is the key to a speedy recovery, whether it be from a common cold or major surgery.

Answer 10

I have heard that from many people... but laughter has helped me heal physically and emotionally.Knowing that you're happy inside sometimes makes you feel better on the outside. Sometimes it depends if you are laughing at or with someone or thing.Healing faster, well I do not think that is possible, just like how time passes by quickly when you're having fun. So actually I think that it just takes time, but it's "faster" when you are having fun! I hope this will help you in some way. =-)

Answer 11

Truly it has not been scientifically "proven" that the endorphines and hormones released while in the physical state of pleasure can actually aide in a faster recovery for someone who is either physically or mentally ill.
However, there have been plenty of studies that have shown that
the pysical state of "pleasure", (POSITIVE ENDORPHINES) creates a more health chemical balance in people.

I have a wonderful idea for an experiment that you could run yourself on this. . . and then I'm sure you'll conclude that it seems as though science proves the endorphines but, what science can noit prove are the unseen factors that lead the soul
to healing.

Fory

contact me @ [e-mail] if you'd like to talk about possible such experiments.