My dad was a tool and die salesman, and as such he was the master when it came to jokes and working with people.  He never met a stranger.  He paid attention to the details revealed in a conversation--to the point of remembering special dates or anniversaries.  He used humor to break the ice in a meeting, working the energy to his advantage.  His sense of humor spilled over to home life.  I would announce: “Dad I’m going to Shelley’s! Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone!”   “Hell no, Jen. I’m not that bad of a shot!” would be his common reply. Or, his favorite answer to where he was going:  “to hell eventually, honey, but right now I’m going to the hardware store.”   I didn’t realize the value of the incessant Henny Youngman one-liners until now.  Laughter truly heals.

In 1979 Norman Cousins published his book touting laughter to being the best medicine.  Today’s science continues to corroborate this finding.   By reducing the stress hormones of cortisone and adrenaline, laughter lowers blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, and improves immunity.  A study on diabetics and laughter found that their blood sugars rise more slowly when a meal is ingested at a comedy show vs. the same meal in a normal setting.  A hundred good belly laughs is equal to 30 minutes of exercise.     Laboratory studies have also found the converse to be true: that stress kills.   HIV patients under duress have poorer CD4 count and function.  Also more heart attacks occur on Monday morning between 6-10am than any other time of the week. 

All of these observations of how laughter can heal make perfect sense when one considers that thoughts are chemical messages.  These messages cross the blood brain barrier and enter the blood circulation, allowing for far and wide consequences of one’s cerebrations.