Laughter is Medicine: 6 Tips to Keep You Healthy

I’ve always known that laughter is the best medicine.

I knew it when I was working with kids with cancer. This became clear to me after hearing so much heartache, which was ‘treated’ with good, hearty belly laughs. During my shifts, I would talk with my patients about what they did before they got sick: What trouble did they get into? What hobbies did they have and what did they still want to do? Then we’d talk and laugh about the ‘boy next door,’ or about wanting to get onto the cheer leading team, and, simpler days.

Laughter in The Hospital

One of my patients, a 15 year-old (who had a bad form of cancer,) blamed herself for getting sick. She said it was probably her doing that got her sick because she one ‘stole’ her mom’s car and crashed it. And she felt very guilty for having put her mom into such despair. We talked a lot, about how her being sick had nothing to do with crashing her mom’s car—and then I’d tell her stories of mine that rivaled hers—which of course made her laugh. I’d bring in other nurses and doctors to share their crazy stories…And it got her laughing— and through this ‘laugh therapy,’ she realized that she wasn’t the only one who did crazy stuff.

I’d routinely try to make hospital days ‘fun’ for my cancer patients—and their parents were deeply grateful. For example, I’d take patients out to the recreation room and if I was driving their wheelchair, we’d make somewhat of an adventure out of the ‘trip.’ In that world of being ‘a kid with cancer in the hospital,’ it wouldn’t take much to get them laughing—even for a few moments.

Missed Signals

Unfortunately, I was ‘ahead’ of my time and was fired for not taking my work seriously enough. Even though all my patients and their families requested me as their nurse and even though I was considered one of the ‘top professionals’ in the hospital, I was fired by an ‘old guard’ of administrators who thought nurses (and doctors) should be stoic, stout and serious.

But now, years later, science has proved that laughter is a key ingredient to health and treatment in diseases.

Laughter in Health

It’s easy to laugh when you are well, but studies suggest that laughter can also improve health and possibly stave off disease, thereby extending life. It eases stress, and helps those with illness cope with their sickness and pain. Laughter stimulates the body’s organs by increasing oxygen intake to the heart, lungs and muscles, and stimulates the brain to release more endorphins, according to the Mayo Clinic. It also helps people handle stress by easing tension, relaxing the muscles and lowering blood pressure. It relieves pain, and improves mood. Laughter also strengthens the immune system.

Laughter in Sickness

For sick people, laughter can distract from pain and provide patients with a sense of control when they otherwise might feel powerless. Moreover, it’s often the patients themselves who crack the jokes.

I remember when my mother was in an acute rehab facility for a broken hip. She was looking frail and ‘worse for the wear’ after having survived a bad fall and a difficult surgery. She had an infection and the doctor told her that she probably only had two weeks more to live. She looked him straight in the eyes and said ‘If you stay my doctor, that’s probably true.’ She fired that doctor and lived for another two and a half years. (True story.)

Finding An Approach to Laughter

But we often don’t laugh enough whether at work or at home—life is full of demands, bosses can be difficult, co-workers can be competitive and petty. If you’re the type of person who laughs easily then this won’t make much sense to be talking about the difficulty in ‘finding ways’ to laugh.

But if you are someone who relies on others to get the conversation going, or to find the irony in daily activities, then it is especially important to find an environment where you can comfortably and in full confidence, laugh.

And note: there is a difference between ‘having a sense of humor’ and seeing the irony in life. You don’t have to be a stand-up comic to find humor in the ‘every day’ occurrences.

So, here are 6 tips for bringing laughter into your life—whether at home or at work:

1.     Surround yourself with people who see the irony in life and who see the silliness of life.

2.     Surround yourself with people who are, at their core, happy (and not small-minded, petty people).

3.     Surround yourself with people who appreciate that life is a fragile journey. (They tend to have the dead-pan humor).

4.     Surround yourself with people who are confident but not egotistical. (Those who are confident can laugh at themselves.)

5.     Let go of any self-consciousness regarding laughter and what you find funny. There is no ‘funny police’ to monitor what is and is not funny. So, if something strikes you as funny—then embrace it and laugh.

6.     Read funny books, watch funny movies, watch goofy animal videos, watch kids laugh.

Laughing and making others laugh is a gift. Laughter brings another layer of meaning into life—it adds richness, depth and fulfillment. That is, if we seek it out. So, seek it out. Laugh every day, and out loud. Why not?

About the author: Julie Kliger is recognized by LinkedIn as a "Top Voice" in Health Care in 2015 & 2106, & 2107. She is a Healthcare ‘Strategic Realist’ who is passionate about improving health care and improving lives. She specializes in future-oriented healthcare redesign, optimizing existing operations, implementing new care models and strategic change management. She is an adviser, clinician, health system board member, speaker and author. 

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