Laughter, The Fun Medicine

My pain tolerance is so low that I needed a shot of novocaine to get fitted for glasses.
—Woody Allen, paraphrased


Bernie S. Siegel, M.D., writes in his book “Love, Medicine & Miracles&rdquo that muscle relaxation and mental anxiety cannot coexist, no matter how hard you try:

There are sound scientific reasons why we call robust, unrestrained laughter “hearty.” It produces complete, relaxed action of the diaphragm, exercising the lungs, increasing the blood’s oxygen level, and gently toning the entire cardiovascular system. Norman Cousins termed it “internal jogging” and others have likened it to a deep massage... After the laughter, all the muscles are relaxed, including the heart—the pulse rate and blood pressure temporarily decline. Physiologists have found that muscle relaxation and anxiety cannot exist together, and the relaxation response after a good laugh has been measured as lasting as long as 45 minutes.

Ah haha hah ha ho ho hoooo! Hah hah ha ah hahahahaha! Heh heheheh haha ha! Oh! Oh! Oh. (Wipe eyes.) Phew.*

Have you heard of Laughter Yoga International’s Laughing Clubs? According to them, even fake laughing helps the ol’ carcass.

Ah hah. Ah hah. Ha.**

* Totally-for-real laughing
** Fake laughing

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