Can enjoying a good chuckle boost your health? Some research points to laughing as a powerful elixir. Here is what you need to know about the benefits of laughter, both physically and emotionally.

Research Supports Claims That Laughter is Great Medicine

The idea that laughter is good for your health has been around since Biblical times. Proverbs 17:22 reads that "A cheerful heart is good medicine." A plaque at the birthplace of the famous 19th-century English poet Lord Byron states, "Always laugh when you can. It is a cheap medicine."

All of this explains the well-known saying that laughter is the best medicine. The saying is more than just a tired cliché. The science says that a deep belly laugh opens up the chest and helps to stimulate circulation and boost oxygen intake, making the impacts physical as well as emotional. Laughing also creates chemical changes in the body that cause the lining of the blood vessels to dilate and improve the flow of blood.

A systematic review of eight short-term research studies conducted between 1989 and 2021 identified that laughing is linked to about a 30% reduction in the stress hormone cortisol.  Endocrinologist Dr. Caroline Kramer and her team at the University of Toronto said that the study found that spontaneous laughter is definitively linked to a positive impact on stress levels. According to Kramer, “Even 10 minutes of laughter can reduce cortisol significantly." She went on to note that “Our results were of greater importance than I thought they would be.”

Kramer concedes that the link between laughter and health can seem too good to be true, particularly for a medical system that is so dependent on medications and other types of treatment as health solutions. “We tend to look at studies showing outcomes like ‘it reduces mortality, it reduces your time in the hospital, it reduces this, it reduces that,’” Kramer said. “I think overall people tend to undermine interventions that just increase well-being.”

Comedian Backs Up Medical Claims

American comedian Craig Shoemaker is also a big advocate of using laughter as a tool for better health. "You’re pumping blood; your lungs are expanded,” said the comedian. "Everything happens when you’re laughing. It’s as good as a workout!” Shoemaker said that he realized early on that laughter is a "truly wonderful medicine for people to be shared."

Shoemaker recently shared a story with CNN about the power of laughter even in the face of a dire health diagnosis. The comedian said that his friend, screenwriter Michael Goldberg, had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 and given just three months to live. Shoemaker detailed that he tried to find ways to use his comedy to help Goldberg and other patients at the cancer care facility. According to Shoemaker, “If only concentrating on the misery of cancer protocols and methodologies, that’s a miserable experience, and it doesn’t inspire people to keep going with their healing journey.“ Shoemaker said that his friend lived 15 years past the diagnosis, giving credit to Goldberg's will to live, and all of the laughter and joy was the centerpiece of his life.

Going through the experience with Goldberg inspired Shoemaker to create a variety of products and workshops designed to help people lean into laughter when they are going through difficult times. Shoemaker said that the products are "for people so they can have a reset, a recharge, a reclamation, on the spot, for whatever they’re dealing with." He detailed that “You literally cannot be angry, depressed, or have any other feelings except for bliss while you are laughing. Laughter has its own space.”

Jamie Bendall, co-owner of the Punchline Comedy Club in Atlanta, echoes Shoemaker's belief about the power of laughter, saying that he believes that comedy serves as a social glue that brings people together during a time of great division in the country. Laughter is a common denominator that crosses over political party lines. Or, as Bendall said, “it’s very hard to both laugh and throw a punch.” Bendall also noted that he has observed that the return of laughter is often the first sign that things are getting better when people are dealing with tough times.

While there is no doubting the ability of laughter to bring light into hard situations and provide health benefits, it should not be the only remedy. Nourishing your body with good food and regular exercise will amplify the positive health benefits of laughter.

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