Michael R. Wasserman, M.D.
Board-Certified Specialist in Geriatric Medicine

A recent study showed that emotional responses ranging from sadness to fear and to happiness have a positive effect on one's health. Norman Cousins, in his well-known book Anatomy of an Illness, spoke of the positive impact of watching Marx Brothers movies on his serious illness.

A few years ago I came down with pneumonia, pulled out videotapes of "I Love Lucy" reruns and laughed myself back to good health. Clearly, humor and laughter have a positive effect on one's attitude and health overall. While we don't know all of the specifics, our immune system appears to benefit from these emotions.

Rx: a dose of humor?
As a physician, it is often easy to prescribe medications to patients for a whole variety of maladies. One must be very cautious with the use of medications, especially in older adults. Is it possible to prescribe humor to our patients? Absolutely! Many of my patients suffer significant pain from arthritis. How can humor and laughter help?

Some of the theories regarding how one experiences pain suggest that a person can be distracted from pain by other sensations or feelings. Laughter can actually distract from pain. Isn't it worth a try to treat pain with humor first, rather than with medications that often tend to dull the senses?

You're not getting older, you're just getting better ... at humor!
It is also a fallacy to think that humor declines with age. In fact, I have found this to be completely the opposite! The benefits of humor take on a variety of forms in the physician's office. I hear many excellent jokes from my patients, and they take the form of all types of humor. This humor can actually be quite beneficial to the doctor-patient relationship. It is important for patients to be able to communicate with their physicians. Humor often provides an excellent means to facilitate this communication. I've also found that many patients will bring up problems that they might not otherwise mention through the use of humor.

Humor allows us to discuss topics that might otherwise be difficult or painful to talk about. Many people suffer losses as they get older. While one might not always expect to use humor in discussing grief and losses, when appropriate, humor can help in dealing with these difficult emotions.

It also helps when you know that your physician cares enough to share some laughter with you. Too many physicians separate themselves from their patients emotionally. This tends to restrict the ability of the physician to communicate effectively with their patient. The next time that you see your physician, bring a short joke with you. It may make your day for both of you, and improve the doctor-patient relationship!

The punch line
Humor can be a very valuable part of one's life. It can improve one's health. It can help your relationship with those around you. And best of all, humor can be fun!

Dr. Wasserman is President and Chief Medical Officer of GeriMed of America, Inc.