Laughter as Medicine

Administering a chuckle can be an important part of helping a patient heal

Sometimes, the best thing we can do in the face of life's inevitable tragedies is laugh. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

Saturday nights were a very special night in our house when I was 16. It was a difficult time: my mother was dying of breast cancer, and there was very little laughter or humor during that last summer in 1973—except for Saturday nights at 9 p.m.

That’s when “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” was on. We would all gather around the TV and forget about all the pain and trouble. Ted Knight was our star. He played Ted Baxter, the bungling, buffoon of a newscaster whose comic genius played off the incredible writing to deliver rarely seen humor. His performance demanded that all who watch him forget about their problems, if only for a few moments.

Laughter releases nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and can reduce blood pressure. A Japanese study in the Journal of Epidemiology in 2020 showed that cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks and strokes) were fewer in people who laughed more than those who laughed less.

Another fascinating report from Norway also showed the importance of good humor on longevity. An article published in Psychosomatic Medicine in 2016 concluded that “the cognitive component of the sense of humor is positively associated with survival from mortality related to cardiovascular disease and infections in women and with infection-related mortality in men. The findings indicate that a sense of humor is a health-protecting cognitive coping resource.”

Charlie Chaplin once said, “In order to truly laugh, you need to be able to take your pain and play with it.” It seems so many comedians have a lot of hidden (and not-so-hidden) pain.

Having a good sense of humor is a lot more than just laughing at a joke; it’s a very effective way of coping with stress. It also can significantly help cognition as well as memory.

Dr. Gurinder Singh Bains of Loma Linda University found that elderly patients who watch a funny video can improve their short-term memory and improve their ability to learn. A study he led, which was published in Advances in Mind-Body Medicine in 2014, found that humor therapies can be developed to help age-associated memory deficiencies.

Has anyone else noticed that during many eulogies, the person speaking may tell a funny story about the recently deceased? Light humor can help alleviate so much pain.

I had been living in Los Angeles for several years, and coming off call one very early morning in 1986, I went into Zucky’s deli in Santa Monica. I was still in scrubs, exhausted, but wanted my French toast (I was still skinny back then). I noticed a man sitting alone, directly across from me, and realized it was Ted Knight. I didn’t want to bother him, but said to myself, if he is still there when I’m finished, I'll walk over and say “hi.”

Needless to say, he was still there. I quickly relayed the story of how much his comedy helped us through those tough times. He was very cordial, polite, and smiled. He said that he really appreciated me telling him that story, and it meant the world to him to hear it—he even became teary-eyed. I shook his hand and left. Knight died several months after that encounter, from colon cancer.

A very hard to read, but fascinating study, “Context Matters: The Benefits and Costs of Expressing Positive Emotion Among Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse” by Dr. George Bonanno of Columbia University, found, “Those who managed to laugh or smile at moments during their interview were more likely to be doing better two years later than those who had not,” he said. “Humor keeps negative emotions in check and gives us a different perspective, allowing us to see some of the bad things that happen to us as a challenge rather than a threat.”

Humor is a very strong and positive tool for all of us. Finding the right place and time is critical.

Many physicians and nurses recognize the importance of humor in taking care of their patients, and the critical importance in helping the elderly cope with illness, loneliness, and stress. Telling a funny story, or better yet, getting a patient to relate a funny story themselves can be therapeutic.

Red Skelton, one of the great comedic minds of our time, once said: “I live by this credo: Have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. Even in your darkest moment, you usually can find something to laugh about, if you try hard enough.”

Now, if my adult kids would only learn to laugh at my dad jokes.