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What Is Laughter Therapy

Laughter therapy uses humor to promote health and wellness by relieving physical and emotional stresses. Research shows that laughter can boost the immune system, reduce stress hormones, improve mood, and enhance quality of life. At Cancer Treatment Centers of America, laughter therapy sessions incorporate exercises like fake laughter to help cancer patients cope with their illness and treatment.

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Fernanda Morales
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146 views3 pages

What Is Laughter Therapy

Laughter therapy uses humor to promote health and wellness by relieving physical and emotional stresses. Research shows that laughter can boost the immune system, reduce stress hormones, improve mood, and enhance quality of life. At Cancer Treatment Centers of America, laughter therapy sessions incorporate exercises like fake laughter to help cancer patients cope with their illness and treatment.

Uploaded by

Fernanda Morales
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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What is Laughter Therapy?

Laughter therapy, also called humor therapy, is the use of humor to promote overall health
and wellness. It aims to use the natural physiological process of laughter to help relieve
physical or emotional stresses or discomfort.

Research Supporting Laughter Therapy

A growing body of research supports the theory that laughter may have therapeutic value.

Over the years, researchers have conducted studies to explore the impact of laughter on
health. After evaluating participants before and after a humorous event (i.e., a comedy
video), studies have revealed that episodes of laughter helped to reduce pain, decrease
stress-related hormones and boost the immune system in participants.

Today more than ever before, people are turning to humor for therapy and healing. Medical
journals have acknowledged that laughter therapy can help improve quality of life for
patients with chronic illnesses. Many hospitals now offer laughter therapy programs as a
complementary treatment to illness.

The Healing Power of Laughter

For people living with cancer, it may seem strange to find humor when facing such serious
issues. Yet, laughter can be helpful in ways you might not have realized or imagined.

Laughter can help you feel better about yourself and the world around you. Laughter can be
a natural diversion. When you laugh, no other thought comes to mind. Laughing can also
induce physical changes in the body. After laughing for only a few minutes, you may feel
better for hours.

When used in addition to conventional cancer treatments, laughter therapy may help in the
overall healing process.

According to some studies, laughter therapy may provide physical benefits, such as helping
to:

 Boost the immune system and circulatory system


 Enhance oxygen intake
 Stimulate the heart and lungs
 Relax muscles throughout the body
 Trigger the release of endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers)
 Ease digestion/soothes stomach aches
 Relieve pain
 Balance blood pressure
 Improve mental functions (i.e., alertness, memory, creativity)
 Improve overall attitude
 Reduce stress/tensión, promote relaxation
 Improve sleep
 Enhance quality of life

Laughter Therapy at CTCA

At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), we fight cancer using an integrative


approach. Our Mind-Body Medicine Department offers supportive options, including
laughter therapy, to help you cope as you receive conventional cancer treatments.

Dr. Katherine Puckett, National Director of Mind-Body Medicine at CTCA, first introduced
laughter therapy to Midwestern Regional Medical Center upon a patient's request.

CTCA offers humor therapy sessions, also known as Laughter Clubs or humor groups, to
help cancer patients and their families use and enjoy laughter as a tool for healing. These
leader-led groups take patients through a number of laugh-related exercises including fake
laughter and laughter greetings.

Laughter Club is based not on humor or jokes, but rather on laughter as a physical exercise.
One group laughter exercise involves patients standing in a circle, with the leader in the
middle. Patients put their fingertips on their cheekbones, chest or lower abdomen and make
“ha ha” or “hee hee” sounds until they felt vibrations through their bodies. Dr. Puckett says
during these exercises, it is hard for people not to join in because laughter is so contagious.

According to Dr. Puckett, at the end of a laughter therapy session, patients have said things
like "I didn't even think about cancer during Laughter Club" and "That felt great! Things
have been so hard that we hadn't laughed in months." Dr. Puckett adds that, just recently,
the eight-year-old daughter of a CTCA patient who attended Laughter Club said afterwards:
"I never thought about laughing every day, but now I realize I can. Like even when I don't
feel happy, I can still laugh and feel better."

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