Laugh for the Health of It 笑能治百病

Patients and medical practitioners alike have long believed in the healing power of humor. It is claimed that humor not only affects patients' moods, but can actually help them recover faster.

Several studies, as well as a lot of anecdotal evidence, seem to support this. Patients in better spirits are known to have higher immune cell counts. Some have even claimed to have healed themselves of serious illnesses by reading comics and watching comedies.

Despite all this, many researchers are not convinced. They point to the fact that many afflictions have been known to disappear spontaneously, with or without a daily dose of laughter. They also say that while optimism in general does seem to be related to better health, it is hard to tell which comes first.

Humor in times of stress, however, clearly makes us feel better. On one level, it takes our minds off our troubles and relaxes us. On another, it releases powerful endorphins in the brain that act to alleviate pain.

There are cases where the appreciation of a good joke is indeed directly related to a person's health. It can show, for example, whether a person has suffered damage to one particular area of the brain: the right frontal lobe.

Scientists confirmed this by having people read jokes and asking them to choose the funniest endings from a list. Subjects with normal brains usually chose endings that were based on a relatively complex synthesis of ideas. Subjects with specifically located brain damage, however, responded only to slapstick endings, which did not depend on a particular context. When pressed , the brain-damaged subjects saw the logic in the correct endings. They simply did not find them funny.

Of course, humor is largely an individual matter. The next time your friend does not get one of your jokes, there is no need to accuse him of being a lamebrain. However, you might suggest that he lighten up—for the health of it.

长期以来，病人和医生都相信幽默能治病。有人宣称，幽默不仅能影响病人的情绪，还能使他们早日康复。

好几项研究和很多奇闻轶事的证据似乎都能证明这一点。情绪比较好的病人，免疫细胞比较多。有一些人甚至宣称通过看漫画和喜剧治好了自己的重病。

尽管如此，许多研究人员并没有被说服。他们指出，事实上不论病人是否接受一日剂量的笑疗，很多苦恼都会自动消失。他们也表示，虽然一般看来乐观的心态确实与健康有联系，但是很难确定哪个更重要。

在受到压力时保持幽默，无疑会使我们心情舒畅。从某个方面而言，笑能使我们远离烦恼，身心放松。就另一个方面来说，幽默的时候脑部会释放能量强大的脑啡肽来减轻疼痛。

有一些案例表明，能欣赏好笑的笑话，的确和健康情形有关。举例来说，它能说明一个人脑部某个特定的部位──右脑额叶是否受到损伤。

科学家通过实验证实这一点。实验的方法是叫一些人阅读笑话，然后请他们从一份目录中挑出最好笑笑话的结尾。脑部情况正常的受测试者选出的结尾，往往是经过相对复杂综合思维之后才能得出的。脑子某个特别部位受到损伤的人，只对闹剧式的笑话结尾有反应，这种笑话并不需要依赖特定的上下文。对脑部受损伤的测试者施加一定压力之后，他们才会看出正确结尾的逻辑，但不觉得好笑。

当然，笑话是否好笑是因人而异的。下次你的朋友听不懂你讲的笑话时，没有必要笑人家笨。但是，你可以建议为了健康，让他放轻松点儿。