Chronic pain is relieved by laughter suggests new study

Laughter can help those with chronic pain, says research presented at The European Pain Federation Congress, held in Florence, Italy.

Swiss scientists found that people laughing at comedy films could keep their hands in ice water longer than those who were not laughing. And the increased pain tolerance remained 20 minutes after laughing.

It could be that humour activates the release of endorphins and relieves muscular tension and so has a subsequent effect on pain on mental and physical level.

“As a result, humour helps to reflect pain, thus helping both the patients as well as their carers to deal better with stress,” says Prof Willibald Ruch who was involved in the work. “Humour can be used specifically as a cognitive technique, for example in terms of a distraction to control the pain and increase pain tolerance.”

But the laughter has to come from the heart.

“Our studies show that only ‘real’ delight, actually experienced and accompanied by a Duchenne expression, leads to increased pain tolerance.”

(In a Duchenne smile, the corners of the mouth pull upwards, but the eyes are also involved with typical small wrinkles at the outer corners.)