Summary: Laughter
doesn’t only help bring people together, it can be great therapy for
those suffering from depression, researchers report.
Source: Harvard
Feeling funny? Natalie Dattilo says that’s a good thing.
The
former director of psychology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital says
laughter has a lot going for it. It makes us feel good, brings people
closer together, lightens a workplace, and even, Dattilo has found in
her practice, helps those with depression manage their condition.
“Health
care is expensive,” said Dattilo, an instructor of psychology in
Harvard Medical School’s Psychiatry Department. “If we can find a tool
that is as simple as laughter, that is free for the most part, with no
side effects and has no contraindications, that would be really great.”
Nobody
knows precisely why we laugh, though suspicions are that it performed
an important bonding and social function in early human groups. We do
know something about what it does, though.
Psychologically,
it improves mood almost immediately and lowers stress and anxiety.
Physically, it lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, while
raising the “feel good” neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.
It
also hikes endorphins, which have pain-relieving effects. Scientists
released a “this is going to hurt you more than me” study in 2011 that
looked at the potential impact of endorphins in easing pain by showing
people funny videos followed by slipping a freezing wine sleeve over an
arm to see how long they could stand it. Those who’d laughed lasted
longer.
In
2020, a group of Brazilian and Canadian researchers conducted an
analysis of 21 studies on the impact of hospital clowns on more than
1,600 children and adolescents suffering an array of symptoms, including
anxiety, pain, stress, cancer-related fatigue, and crying.
The
research found that children exposed to the merry jesters were
significantly less anxious during subsequent medical procedures,
regardless of whether a parent was present, and experienced improved
psychological well-being.
In
2004, a team led by Carl Marci, 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 impact.
In
work that tracked skin conductance and sweating in psychiatrists and
their patients being treated for mood disorders like anxiety and
depression, they found that laughter was common, despite the somber
topic. There were an average of 15 laughs during the 50 minutes they
spent together.
Patients
laughed about twice as much as the psychiatrists, but even when only
one was laughing, both showed increases in nervous system activity that
controls blood pressure and heart rate. When both laughed together,
however, that arousal was significantly higher.
The
contagious laughs, Marci said at the time, were a sign that emotions
being expressed were perceived as validated. It also indicates that the
patient is expressing more than just what’s being said.
Harvard
may seem the kind of place that studies laughter rather than
participates in it, but with a campus full of young people, keeping the
lid on laughs is a challenge.
The
campus hosts humorous publications, a famed annual burlesque show, a
mock TV news show, and student groups offering improv and standup
opportunities.
Alumni
have made their mark on the global comedy scene after leaving campus,
including actor John Lithgow, late-night host Conan O’Brien, and writers
for TV landmarks such as “The Simpsons,” “Seinfeld,” and “The Office.”
Even
Harvard University Health Services has gotten in on the act, offering a
Winter session course in laughter yoga, which stands on its head our
everyday understanding of laughter’s cause and effect. Laughter yoga
couples breathing exercises with voluntary laughter to elicit its
beneficial physiological response.
“It’s just a different category of laughter,” Dattilo said. “We experience them very differently, but the body doesn’t.”
Nobody
knows precisely why we laugh, though suspicions are that it performed
an important bonding and social function in early human groups. Image is
in the public domain.
Dattilo
uses laughter to treat those struggling with depression through
behavioral and non-medication-based approaches. She claims to not be all
that funny herself, but rather someone who came to appreciate
laughter’s benefits through a broader interest in restoring playfulness
to our adult lives.
“The
framework that I use includes things like exercise and natural, quality
sleep; social connection, things like gratitude practice—these are all
things we know work,” Dattilo said.
“And
one of those categories is play, or pleasure, and laughter is one of
the main tools that I use to help people activate the pleasure and
reward centers of the brain, to get them to playfully approach life,
make time for that sort of activity as an important pillar of health and
wellness.”
In some ways, Dattilo said, it’s an effort to find what’s been lost for many of us as we were forced to “grow up.”
“As
adults, we don’t laugh nearly as much as we used to. The idea that we
would have fun, play, and make time for those things is often seen as a
reward or something you have to earn or something you do when the work
is done,” Dattilo said. “But the work is never done.”
Dattilo
has become involved in an effort to inject laughter into the workplace
through Laugh.Events, a pandemic-born organization that offers
comedy-focused, corporate events aimed at bringing coworkers together
and boosting office morale. Dattilo, the organization’s science adviser,
gives to the sessions her science-based take on laughter as a bonding,
healing, creativity-boosting factor in the workplace.
“It’s been a fun, interesting partnership, because they’re trying to bring laughter to work,” Dattilo said.
“When
you’re not regularly activating the pleasure/reward centers of the
brain they go offline. So, in order to feel good, we have to practice
feeling good. And laughing is one of the most cost-effective ways to do
that.”
About this laughter and depression research news
Author: Alvin Powell
Source: Harvard
Contact: Alvin Powell – Harvard
Image: The image is in the public domain