Do the Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter Have Scientific Support?

By Paul J. Rosch, M.D.
President, The American Institute of Stress
http://www.stress.org/
Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry
New York Medical College
Originally published in Health and Stress, the newsletter (November 2005) of The American Institute of Stress

Part of the problem in obtaining proof that laughter promotes health or prolongs life is that it is sometimes viewed as being synonymous with humor and happiness. Laughter is not the same as humor or happiness.

Laughter is the physical and physiological response to humor that frequently results in a feeling of happiness.

The only link between all of these is that happy people and those with a good sense of humor are more apt to laugh at something that is funny than their crabby counterparts.

A prior article, titled Why Do Happy People and Optimists Live Longer?, reviewed the evidence that validates this view and discussed possible explanations for such relationships. Since then, this belief has been bolstered by other reports that also shed light on some mechanisms of action that may be responsible. Read more...

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