A New Study: Bring on the Laughs!

Yesterday I read an article that I knew I had to share with my Intracranial Hypertension (What the heck is that?!) buddies over at the IH Brain Pain Blogs, but as I was halfway through my post it occurred to me that this is relevant to anyone who experiences pain! Here is a snippet of the post I wrote, or if you just want to jump directly to the full post now, click here.

Prescription: Ridiculousness

Posted by Nicole Rivera

We have all heard that "laughter is the best medicine," but is this just an old-wives tale? Is this a way to get people who are feeling crappy to just clam up and find the fun in life again? Well, a scientific study was done and the answer is no. Laughter, at least, those really deep, hearty, uncontrollable belly laughs, actually have a physical affect on how we feel pain!

The Science Says So
 
In an article I read yesterday on BBC America, the results of an experiment conducted at the University of Oxford were discussed. The experiment was conducted as follows:

The experimenters first tested the pain thresholds of volunteers.
They were then split into two groups, with one being shown 15 minutes of comedy videos, while the other was shown material the researchers deemed boring - such as golfing programmes.

The researchers found that those subjects that had recently experienced belly laughs were able to withstand up to 10% more pain than they had done before watching the videos.

To their surprise, the scientists also found that the other group was less able to bear pain after watching 15 minutes of the "boring" programmes.

So the question must be asked: Is 10% less pain really all that much? The scientists admitted that there was no way to determine that (in an audio clip accompanying the article) since it would depend on each person's experience, but I can say, personally ANY decrease in pain is a positive in my book!

Learn How to Laugh First
 
If you are like me and you're thinking, Where can I get my next dose of laughter?! AND NOW?! Hang on for just one more second, because this isn't just any old giggle you need to muster up.

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