Indeed, Laughter is a Good Medicine

Filed in archive Kid's Health , Studies , Treatment on October 26, 2007

Well actually, as the old saying goes: laughter is the best medicine.




As proven by a study of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the nonprofit organization Rx Laughter.

According to the said study, watching comedy shows helps children tolerate pain for longer periods of time.

Laughter has long been viewed as good medicine, and although there are many programs that bring humor into pediatric hospitals, little research has been done on the utility of humor for children or adolescents undergoing stressful or painful procedures, such as blood draws and treatments for cancer.

Rx Laughter, an organization founded by former television executive Sherry Dunay Hilber that promotes the use of humor in healing, worked with UCLA researchers on the study, which was funded by a grant from Comedy Central.

Participants watched funny classic and contemporary films and television programs while undergoing a standardized pain task - in this case, placing their hands in icy-cold water. The group demonstrated "significantly greater pain tolerance" while viewing the funny shows.

Findings of the said study, suggesting that humorous distraction could be used in clinical settings to help children and adolescents better handle painful procedures, have been published in the October issue of the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Well it definitely wouldn't hurt to laugh, it feels good to laugh.

Find more details from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.