A laugh a day keeps the doctor away?

Feeling funny? Natalie Dattilo says it’s a good thing.

The former head of psychology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital said: laughter It takes a lot. It makes us feel better, brings people closer together, brightens up the workplace, and even what Dattilo found in her practice helps depressed patients manage their condition.

“Health care is expensive,” says Dattilo, a lecturer in psychology in the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry. It’s wonderful.”

No one knows exactly why we laugh, but it forms an important bond and social function in early human groups. However, I do have some idea of ​​what it does. Psychologically, your mood will improve immediately, and your stress and anxiety will be reduced. Physically, it lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol and raises dopamine and serotonin, the “feel good” neurotransmitters.

It also increases endorphins, which have an analgesic effect. Scientists published a study in 2011 titled “This will hurt you more than me,” showing people a funny video and then slipping a frozen wine sleeve up their arm to see how long they could endure. explored the potential effects of endorphins in relieving pain. Those who laughed lasted longer.

In 2020, a group of Brazilian and Canadian researchers conducted 21 studies on the effects of hospital clowns on more than 1,600 children and adolescents suffering from a range of symptoms, including anxiety, pain, stress, cancer-related fatigue, and crying. An analysis of the study was conducted. The study found that children exposed to the hilarious clown had significantly less anxiety and improved psychological well-being during subsequent medical procedures, whether or not their parents were present. I was.

In 2004, a team led by Carl Murthy, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, tracked not only the psychological and physiological effects of laughter, but also its interpersonal effects.

A study that tracked skin conductance and sweating in psychiatrists and patients being treated for mood disorders such as anxiety and depression found that laughter was common despite the dark topic. In the 50 minutes we spent together, we laughed an average of 15 times. The patients laughed about twice as much as the psychiatrist, but even if one laughed, there was increased activity in the nervous system that controls blood pressure and heart rate. However, the arousal was significantly higher when both laughed together. Mercy said at the time that contagious laughter was a sign that the emotions being expressed were perceived as justified. increase.

Harvard may seem like a place to study laughter rather than participate in it, but laughter abounds on campus. Young people, Keeping a lid on laughter is a challenge. The campus hosts humorous publications, a well-known annual burlesque show, television mock news shows, and student groups that provide opportunities for improvisation and stand-up. After leaving campus, alumni have worked with actor John Lithgow, late-night host Conan O’Brien, and writer of landmark TV shows like “The Simpsons,” “Seinfeld,” and “The Office.” Etc., active in the comedy scene of the world.

Even Harvard Health Services offers winter session courses in Laughter Yoga based on our everyday understanding of the causes and consequences of laughter. Laughter yoga combines breathing exercises and spontaneous laughter to elicit beneficial physiological responses.

“It’s just another category of laughter,” said Dattilo. “We experience them very differently, but the body does not.”

Dattilo uses laughter to treat people suffering from depression through behavioral therapy and non-medication-based approaches. Not a very funny person herself, she claims she came to see the benefits of laughter through her broader interest in playing adult life and trying to get her mind back.

“The framework I use has all been found to work: exercise, natural, quality sleep, social connection and gratitude exercises,” said Dattilo. “And one of those categories is play, or pleasure. Laughter is he one of the primary tools people use to help activate the pleasure and reward centers of the brain. Health and activities as an important pillar of wellness.”

In a way, Dattilo said, it’s an effort to find what many of us have lost when forced to “grow up.”

“As adults, we don’t laugh as much as we used to. The idea that we have fun, play, and make time for those things is seen as a reward or something we have to earn or do sometimes. The job is done,” said Dattilo. “But the work never ends.”

Dattilo will be involved in efforts to inject laughter into the workplace through Laugh.Events, a pandemic-born organization that offers comedy-focused corporate events aimed at bringing colleagues together and boosting office morale. became. Dattilo, the organization’s scientific advisor, incorporates science-based laughter into sessions as a factor that enhances bonding, healing, and creativity in the workplace.

“It’s been a fun and interesting partnership because they’re trying to bring some laughter to their work,” said Dattilo. So in order to feel good, you have to practice feeling good, and laughing is one of the most cost-effective ways to do that.”

Courtesy of Harvard Gazette

This story is Harvard Gazette, the official newspaper of Harvard University. For more college news, visit Harvard.edu.