The Laughter Remedy

Paul McGhee is currently President of The Laughter Remedy in Wilmington, Delaware, in the USA. His scientific contributions to the field of humor research make him unique among those who currently work as professional speakers discussing the importance of building more humor into your life. He has published 15 books and many scientific articles on humor and is internationally recognized for his contributions in three distinct areas: 1) scientific research on humor and laughter, 2) practical applications of humor in corporate and healthcare settings—including the only research-supported program for improving humor skills and 3) substantive, but entertaining, keynotes and workshops on humor.

Dr. McGhee’s Most Recent Books

Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health The verdict is finally in. Humor and laughter do support a healthy body, mind and soul! This book discusses in a readable fashion the latest exciting research on humor/laughter and 1) health, 2) resilience/coping with stress and 3) the brain. Special attention is given to the new research demonstrating humor’s positive impact on heart disease, asthma, COPD, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis & skin allergies--as well as to its impact on expression of health-related genes. References to the original research are provided for those who need to document claims about the health benefits of humor. MORE

Understanding and Promoting the Development of Children’s Humor When do children first show a sense of humor? Does infant laughter = a sense of humor? How does their sense of humor change as they get older? How does humor contribute to children’s intellectual, social & emotional development? Are there things you can do to nurture their budding sense of humor? Why do 5-year-olds seem to have a “cruel” sense of humor? This book answers all of these questions, and more. MORE

Small Medium at Large: How to Develop a Powerful Verbal Sense of Humor This book jumpstarts your spontaneous verbal wit. It contains several hundred adult jokes with a key part of the punch line missing. A clue is provided to get you thinking in the right direction without giving the answer. Using the clue to generate your own funny punch line strengthens your ability to come up with spontaneous puns and other verbal humor in the midst of social interaction. As you move through the book, a generalized boost in thinking funny occurs. Coming up with your own punch lines takes real mental effort at first, but gradually begins to happen spontaneously and automatically. MORE

Mild Humor & Laughter Support Breathing in COPD Patients

September 28, 2011 By Paul McGhee

[This article was adapted from McGhee, P. Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. References to the research discussed below are presented in this book.] Intuitively, you would assume that laughter would not be a good idea for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD—a condition (which may result from emphysema or chronic bronchitis) characterized by generally irreversible airway obstruction (air trapping), resulting in a slowed rate of exhalation. In COPD, the bronchial passages are seriously impaired in their ability to rid the lungs of air, leading to hyperinflation. “Pursed lip” breathing is often recommended to help patients get a good exchange of air in the lungs. Bronchodilators are also used to help empty air and reduce the level of hyperinflation. On the one hand, you might expect the forcefulness of hearty laughter to help force more air through the bronchi and reduce the level of trapped air. We know … [Read More...]

Humor Yourself to Better Pulmonary Health: Introduction

September 28, 2011 By Paul McGhee

[This article was adapted from McGhee, P. Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. References to the research discussed below are presented in this book.] Researchers have recently begun to study the pulmonary benefits of humor and laughter. If you are already in good health, their contribution to pulmonary health is probably negligible. For individuals with a respiratory illness (or who are confined to a bed), however, the picture may be quite different. Such individuals are more likely to have a shallow breathing pattern, which leaves a larger (than desired) volume of “residual air” (the air remaining in the lungs when your outward breath is replaced by the next inhalation) in the lungs. More active individuals breathe out more of the residual air and replace it on a regular basis with new oxygen-enriched air. The risk associated with excess residual air in the lungs on an ongoing basis lies in the fact that there is a progressive … [Read More...]

How does Humor Promote a Healthy Heart?

July 12, 2011 By Paul McGhee

References for the research discussed here (and all other humor and health research discussed at this website) are presented in McGhee, P. (2010). Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.] The previous article on humor and health documented that humor and laughter do support good cardiac health—both among people in good heart health and those who have already suffered a heart attack. Four different explanations have been offered for how humor does this. By Reducing Stress-Linked Cardiovascular Reactivity. We have known for years that the anger, tension and anxiety that generally go along with high stress have a negative impact on the heart, making a significant contribution to both CHD and hypertension (the first clue along these lines came from research in the 1970s documenting a link between the so-called “Type A” personality and coronary heart disease in subsequent years. But humor has the power to overcome this link. For example, … [Read More...]

The Laughter Remedy

Dr. McGhee’s Most Recent Books

Mild Humor & Laughter Support Breathing in COPD Patients

Humor Yourself to Better Pulmonary Health: Introduction

How does Humor Promote a Healthy Heart?

Whose laugh is this?

Boost Your HQ (Humor Quotient)

Most Recent Articles

Other Humor Sites