WHAT THE MEDICAL PROFESSION SAYS ABOUT LAUGHTER AND HEALING
"Experiencing joyful laughter reduces stress hormones, lowers blood pressure and elevates a person’s mood...the act of laughing increases endorphins, sending dopamine to the brain. This provides a sense of pleasure and reward, and the immune system also functions better."
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Assoc. Professor Lee Berk
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
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"Laughter in and of itself cannot cure cancer nor prevent cancer, but laughter as part of the full range of positive emotions including hope, love, faith, strong will to live, determination and purpose,
can be a significant and indispensable aspect of the total fight for recovery."
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Harold H. Benjamin PhD
We think the science is compelling and the medical profession agrees!
"Mirthful laughter as a preventative adjunct therapy in diabetes care, raised good cholesterol and lowered inflammation."
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Dr Lee S. Berk, PhD, MPH
Loma Linda University
Dr Stanley Tan, MD, PhD
Oak Crest Health Research Institute
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"We in the health care medical sciences need to ‘get serious about happiness’ and the lifestyle that produces it, relative to mind, body and spirit and its bio translation."
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Dr Lee S. Berk, PhD, MPH
Loma Linda University
"Laughter has been shown to be of benefit
in lowering the rise in sugar after meals in
patients with diabetes."
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Diabetes Care, Volume 26, Number 5, May 2003
"Your body cannot heal without play.
Your mind cannot heal without laughter.
Your soul cannot heal without joy."
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Catherine Rippenger Fenwick
Clinical Psychologist
"Individuals who are ill are recommended to laugh as a mode of therapy, since previous research has shown laughter to increase the bodily immune function."
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Laugh Yourself into a Healthier Person
International Journal of Medical Sciences, 2009
"Laughter may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome."
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Dr Lee S. Berk, PhD, MPH
Loma Linda University
Dr Stanley Tan, MD, PhD
Oak Crest Health Research Institute
"Laughter contributes positively and measurably to appetite and digestion, sleep patterns, heart problems, blood flow and several brain disorders... Laughing, joy and happiness are very helpful to the chemistry of the body and to the general health of the person.
Not only does humour incorporate great healing power when used as therapy for stress or coping¹ but it has also been found to build up resilience and self-image among troubled youths, particularly when they perceive conflict or stress.²"
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¹(Seaward, 2006)
²(Berg & Van Brockern, 1995)
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Dr Samuel Kahn
Psychiatrist
Dieters looking for another edge might want to consider exercising their sense of humor — scientists have found that a good laugh is a calorie burner not to be ignored.
"They burned 20 percent more calories when laughing, compared to not laughing. Then we calculated what would happen if somebody laughed for 10 or 15 minutes a day and we found that it was up to 50 calories, depending on your body size and the intensity of the laughter."
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Energy expenditure of genuine laughter, 2007
International Journal of Obesity, London