When we go to the hospital or a doctor’s office there are certain medical treatments and procedures we expect. But what if your doctor asked you to start laughing for your health? Don’t be surprised. Laughter therapy is gaining in popularity because of growing evidence a good laugh can improve the healing process and possibly help traditional medicine work even better.Whether you like old-fashioned slapstick or more subtle comedy, chances are you know what tickles your funny bone. Now, health experts say those merry moments are even more important when life feels less than humorous. 

It’s called laughter yoga, and at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, patients are literally forcing themselves to laugh. The theory is laughter, even if forced, enhances overall well-being and aids in the healing process, using it as a therapeutic tool and not just an emotion. Along with traditional therapies, this is offered as part of their treatment.

There is not a lot of scientific proof when it comes to laughter as medicine, but researchers are gathering evidence that the way we feel can directly affect chemicals in our bodies that influence everything from our brain to our heart. Laughter is thought to decrease stress hormones and lower blood pressure. It may also increase blood flow, even act as a natural pain killer.

“For people undergoing chemo, it helps them take the stress and scariness out of it, opens blood flow, and oxygenates the blood so the treatment is flowing a little better throughout their veins,” said Tim Nelson, laughter yoga leader.

A certified laughter instructor starts the group with some very simple yoga stretching and breathing exercises. Then the patients — some actually in the process of getting chemo — do various silly exercises.

We watched as the fake laughter blossomed into genuine giggles.

“You feel like a tingling sensation running through your body. You’re getting something out of it. Not a waste of time. It does work,” said Kurt Michl, cancer patient.

Across town, at the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch, there is more laughter. Certified laughter therapist Colleen Caron is working with a mix of back patients and health care professionals.

“The theory is 10 minutes of laughing can give you up to two hours of pain free,” said Caron. “It’s energizing. It releases the neurotransmitters in the brain, it exercises the same muscles and organs we use for breathing, it stimulates the immune system.”

Even some doctors who deal with high-tech medicine are making room for this low-tech treatment. Dr. Dan Hurley believes in the power of mind and body. He says, in the right situations, a little well placed humor can impact a patient’s outcome.

“I think laughter is one of the more magic things we as humans can do innately. It also happens to be therapeutic,” said Dan Hurley, M.D., physiatrist, CINN.

Swedish Covenant says the laughter therapy has been so successful among cancer patients it is now offering the classes to those going though cardiac rehabilitation

This type of therapy is not just reserved for those fighting disease. Therapists such as Colleen Caron also bring their seminars to the work setting as an easy way to help employees relieve stress.

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