The matter has been under scrutiny for more than 20 years

Apr 18, 2009 09:01 GMT  ·  By

The concept of lifestyle medicine is a relatively new one, unwillingly created by Norman Cousins, who was a writer and a news magazine editor in the 1970s. Having been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, the then-layman prescribed himself a diet consisting mainly of good mood, lots of laughter, and funny videos. After a few years, the disease went into remission, and Cousins wrote a book detailing his experiences, and also published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Since then, his method of therapy has become known under a variety of names, from whole-person care to integrative medicine. His approach to curing diseases was then carefully studied by a large number of researchers, and studies focused on understanding the influence of mood on the body and on diseases continue to this day. While there are no clear medical facts available as to why mood, and especially laughter, have high chances of defeating diseases, the truth is that this nevertheless happens, which places doctors in a very awkward position.

Studies, however, revealed that when test subjects anticipated they would see a humorous video, two hormones in their bodies showed increased signs of activity, of between 27 and 87 percent, respectively. The two substances were beta-endorphins, which play a role in elevating mood states, and the human growth hormone (HGH), a compound that is responsible for strengthening the overall immune system.

The same anticipation also reduced the levels of the three main stress hormones, cortisol, epinephrine and dopac, by 39, 70 and 38 percent, respectively, as opposed to participants in control groups, who did not expect to see such a video.

This type of anticipation, known as mirthful laughter, was found to have very beneficial effects on the body. Some of the most impressive researches in this phenomenon were conducted by Loma Linda University Preventive Care Specialist and Psychoneuroimmunologist Lee Berk, DrPH, MPH. In a recent experiment, he demonstrated that mirthful laughter had a very positive effect on diabetes patients, who registered an improvement in their condition. The levels of “good” cholesterol climbed, while inflammation levels notably decreased.

The find will be presented at the 122nd Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society, to be held in New Orleans between April 18-22, 2009. “The best clinicians understand that there is an intrinsic physiological intervention brought about by positive emotions such as mirthful laughter, optimism and hope. Lifestyle choices have a significant impact on health and disease and these are choices which we and the patient exercise control relative to prevention and treatment,” Berk says.