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» Features
| Laugh your way to health 'The fool performs a sacred role in the community...a teller of truth standing naked in the marketplace...confronting the powerful with playful disorder.' Laughter positively affecting disease is a concept that most people, including the medical profession are only just beginning to acknowledge and understand. Is it really possible to laugh your way to wellness? Evidence can be found in the case of Norman Cousins, who is often described as "the man who laughed his way to health". After being diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful disease that causes the disintegration of the connective spinal tissue, Cousins decided to take positive action. Given only months to live, he discharged himself from hospital, gave himself extremely high doses of vitamin C and exposed himself to intensive humour treatments. He found that 15 minutes of carefree laughter could produce two hours of pain free sleep. Over the following months, Cousins' condition improved. He was eventually able to completely reverse the illness. In this case laughter really was the best medicine. Cousins' path to wellness is documented in his award-winning book, "Anatomy of an Illness". It is a true testament to the power of the human spirit. Cousins' case caused medical professionals to sit up and take notice. Since then, others have followed a similar path. Patch Adams, the 1998 production by Universal Pictures, was based on a real life doctor who used laughter, joy and creativity as an integral part of the healing process. The real life Patch Adams has devoted his life to the study of what makes people happy. He travels frequently, 'clowning' for sick children and teaching courses in "The Joy of Living". This unconventional medical philosophy has attracted many supporters. Laughter clinics have sprung up all over the world, teaching people to cope with stress. Groups of 'humour volunteers' travel to hospitals engaging in yo-yo demonstrations, guitar playing, joke-telling, entertaining and even just friendly banter, to provide humorous interaction. Even the medical fraternity, often accused of being too clinical, has accepted the fact that laughter is as important to general health and wellbeing as a healthy diet, or getting enough sleep. What actually happens to our bodies when we laugh? Well, it's like a full body workout for the soul. When you laugh, endorphins are released into your body, these feel-good hormones are the body's natural painkillers, so they leave you feeling slightly euphoric, as well as suppressing the stress hormone, epinephrine. Nervous energy is discharged, your stress levels are lowered, and physically and psychologically your body relaxes. Laughter also exercises the cardiovascular system, by raising and lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. It improves the co-ordination of the brain function, enhancing memory and alertness. The oxygen in your blood is increased, promoting healing, and internal muscles are strengthened as they contract and release. We all need to incorporate more laughter into our lives. It's easy to get caught up in the hectic pace of modern day life, a pace where there is seldom time for laughter. We must not forget that a sense of humour is a vital part of our make-up as human beings. We deserve to be happy. How difficult is it to take a walk through the park and laugh at the sheer joy and beauty of a perfect cloud, to splash through a puddle, or watch children play? If laughter is powerful enough to cure disease, it can bring light to a world that often forgets to laugh.
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