Comedy builds up your tolerance

A good laugh helps you tolerate more pain, according to new research conducted at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Volunteers could bear more discomfort after watching comedy shows either live or on DVD – thanks to the endorphins released by a good chuckle.

At the Fringe, the guinea pigs had to see how long they could stand against a wall with their knees bent both before and after watching a stand-up show. Researchers found just 15 minutes of laughter increased the level of pain tolerance by around ten per cent, compared to a control group who watched a theatrical drama.

Similarly, a lab experiment proved watching comedy clips from Mr Bean or Friends increased tolerance for how long volunteers could bear to have a deep-frozen wine-cooler sleeve on their arm.

However, the anthropologists found that their subjects had to find the comedy genuinely funny, because it only worked with relaxed, unforced laughter, as opposed to a polite titter.

They also found that this kind of belly laugh is far more likely to happen when you are with others, rather than being alone.

Evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar, pictured, from Oxford University, led the study. He said: ‘Very little research has been done into why we laugh and what role it plays in society

‘Using microphones, we were able to record each of the participants and found that in a comedy show, they laughed for about a third of the time, and their pain tolerance rose as a consequence.

‘We think the effect only comes from full-blown hearty laughter, which involves a series of sharp exhalations with no in-drawing of breath.’

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, said: ‘Laughing is physically very exhausting, and anything that taxes the body physically triggers endorphins as a natural response as part of the pain control mechanism.’

Previous studies have credited laughter with being good for the heart, boosting circulation as much as exercise or cholesterol-lowering drugs, as well as burning calories and boosting the immune system.

Published: 14 Sep 2011