Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

Maybe you’ve heard that old saw, “Laughter is the best medicine?” It’s not that I don’t trust the wisdom of grandmothers and reader’s digest. Let’s just say I’m healthily agnostic about what canards I choose to believe in.

So I decided to investigate this claim in my typical pseudo scientific method for you gentle readers. Herewith are my findings:

The first question we must ask ourselves is what malady is laughter the best medicine for?

I mean, I guess if I had a gangrenous foot that needed lopping off I might get by with a good Saturday Night Live skit or The Onion. But I daresay a good anesthetic might be a tad more efficacious. Then again, the most common anesthetic, is nitrous oxide after all.

So then let’s assume laughter is the best medicine because it remedies the most common illness afflicting the human species. I would have guessed that to be turf toe but according to the internet that would be hypertension.

Previous scientific studies have proven that laughter:
- reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort.
- reduces blood sugar levels.
- improves job performance.
- synchronizes the brains of speaker and listener so that they are emotionally attuned.
- will eventually bring about world peace

And now comes hard new evidence from American College of Cardiology member Michael Miller, M.D., of the University of Maryland that laughter helps your blood vessels function better.

It acts on the inner lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium (I’m not making this word up, I promise), causing vessels to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. In other words, laughter is good for your heart and brain.

Now I know what some of you are thinking. How can laughter compete with the likes of drugs such as Prozac, OxyContin, weed or ecstasy for ‘best medicine’ honors? I guess it boils down to cost performance.

Laughter comes ostensibly for free, whereas both legal and illicit drugs cost a pretty penny. Just try selling laughs on a street corner for a morning and then drugs in the afternoon and you’ll soon understand my point if you’re not gunned down in a senseless act first (and I do mean in the morning).

So in conclusion I guess Laughter IS the best medicine after all. So next time you’re feeling blue, take two (laughs) and call me in the morning.

What do you believe is the best medicine?