Laughter Really is the Best Medicine!

A History of Laughter

People have known for thousands of years that laughter is a good thing and it plays a role in attitude and health. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” can be found in the Old Testament. In the modern era, the science of laughter began in 1964 with the work of Dr. William Fry, Jr., a physician at Palo Alto Medical Research Foundation. He quietly laid the groundwork for all of the scientific studies that have been done since then. I’m sure you have heard of Norman Cousins and how he used laughter along with other treatments to cure a fatal illness. He thought that laughter might have a positive effect on his body. He watched funny movies and TV shows and found that if he laughed for 15 minutes he could get 2 hours of painless sleep. In 1979, Norman Cousins wrote “Anatomy of an Illness” to raise money for laughter research. Dr. Lee Berk of Loma Linda University accepted Norman Cousins request to do the laughter research. Dr. Berk is a preventive care specialist and a psychoneuroimmunologist. His most recent findings include effects of mirthful laughter on individuals with diabetes. In 1995, Dr. Kataria, a physician in India who had been reading all the scientific research, thought his patients’ health would improve if they had more laughter in their lives. He started laughter clubs first using jokes. When that proved unsuccessful, he combined laughter with yoga. In 1998, Steve Wilson, a psychologist from Philadelphia who had been researching laughter and using it in his private practice for years, met Dr. Kataria in India and learned about laughter yoga. Steve Wilson then founded World Laughter Tour, which is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. He has trained and certified over 5,000 laughter leaders from many countries around the globe. Recently, Dr. Michael Miller, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine has been studying the effects of laughter on the heart and in people who are recovering from heart attacks. He has discovered that watching a stressful movie reduces blood flow to the heart but watching a funny movie increases blood flow. He claims that 15-20 minutes of laughter per day can prevent heart disease.

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