We’ve all heard the expression “laughter is the best medicine”, but did we actually believe it? Turns out, the loveable saying is entirely legit. Researchers at the University of Oxford have recently discovered that laughing releases a natural painkiller to the human brain.
According to their study, uncontrollable laughter releases endorphins into the body which generate a mild euphoria that can temporarily ease pain. But, not just any laugh will do it. A good old fashion, gasping for breath, belly laugh is what it takes to do the job. Giggles and titters won’t have any effect. Sorry, Nelson! It seems your “Haw-Haw’s” won’t help numb the pain. (Serves you right for laughing at others).
Their study went something like this: a group of volunteers – in pain, of course – were split into two groups. The first group was shown 15 minutes of a comedy program, and the second were shown 15 minutes of the most boring sport known to man, golf. Sure enough, those belly laughing could handle 10% more pain. Meanwhile, the golf audience actually became weaker, finding their pain even more unbearable (we don’t blame them).
The person in charge of the study, Professor Robin Dunbar of Oxford University told BBC news that “It’s the emptying of the lungs that causes [this effect]…it’s exactly what happens when we say ‘I laughed until it hurt’. It seems to be extremely painful and it’s that pain that produces the endorphin effect.”
But, only certain programs were able to produce a belly laugh to the average person. Slapstick humor like MR. BEAN and FRIENDS produced the best results, while stand-up comic routines produced only smaller laughs, making it not work as much.
In honor of this finding, we’re going to recommend you bookmark this article and pull this video up every time you’re in pain: