The Laughter Remedy

Welcome to the Laughter Remedy

Recent research has demonstrated what our grandmothers always knew to be true; LAUGHTER really is GOOD MEDICINE! This website was created by one of the pioneers in conducting “serious” research on humor. It is dedicated to 1) keeping you up to date on the latest exciting studies documenting the specific ways in which humor and laughter contribute to health, emotional resilience and happiness and 2) how to get these benefits of humor into your life. Dr. McGhee’s 4-month-long series of online radio broadcasts in 2012 showed how to boost your humor skills and learn to use humor to cope. (Click on "Radio Humor Training Exercises" to see humor-building suggestions that accompanied those broadcasts.) Research in four countries has documented the effectiveness of his 7 Humor Habits Training Program. Dr. McGhee has shown organizations in many countries the benefits of building appropriate forms of humor and fun into the workplace. See his March 30 article (under "Radio Humor Training") if you are a non-native speaker of English and want to learn to create verbal humor in English.

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

Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed Out World: The 7 Humor Habits Program Good news: The program really works! You’ve all heard it: “You’re either born with a good sense of humor or you’re not.” This hands-on program for improving your sense of humor finally disproves the old axiom. It shows exactly what you need to do to build the basic foundation skills of your sense of humor and then use humor to cope with the stress in your life. Studies in five countries have documented its effectiveness from age 20 to 70. 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

Humor Supports the Body’s Battle vs. Specific Diseases: The Latest Research

July 7, 2012 By Paul McGhee

"The chemicals that are running our body and our brain are the same chemicals that are involved in emotion. And that says to me that . . . we'd better pay more attention to emotions with respect to health." (Candace Pert, PhD, former Chief of Brain Biochemistry, National Institutes of Health) You’ve probably heard the media reports about humor and good health for 10-20 years now—although the number of such reports on television and radio and in print media has dropped in recent years because it’s all been covered so many times. And yet there are exciting new findings to report, so this article will bring you up to date in summarizing the new wave of research on how humor contributes to good health and physical well-being. All of this research is discussed in detail in my new book, Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health (references to the research are included for those who want to document the evidence). The First Wave of Research In the 1980s and … [Read More...]

The Seven Humor Habits Program: Assessing Your Gains from Following the Radio Broadcasts over the Past 3 Months

May 4, 2012 By Paul McGhee

This article marks the end of a 4-month long series of radio broadcasts between January 13 and April 27, 2012 devoted to helping you first improve your sense of humor and then learn to use humor to cope with the stress in your life. I would like to thank Ike Englebaum, the host of the popular radio show out of Detroit called The Bright Side of Aging (www.americanseniorgazette.org ), for inviting me as a guest on his show for these several months. This is the first time that any globally-available (online) radio show has devoted itself to helping people around the world learn to use their sense of humor to cope with the difficult/stressful times in their daily lives. So thank you Ike, for making this opportunity available for listeners around the world. The broadcast series was based on my 7 Humor Habits Program, published in my book, Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out World: The 7 Humor Habits Program. In 3 weeks of preliminary broadcasts, we first discussed the … [Read More...]

The Seventh Humor Habit: Find Humor in the Midst of Stress

April 27, 2012 By Paul McGhee

“Were it not for my little jokes, I could not bear the burdens of this office.” (Abraham Lincoln) “I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.” (Bob Hope) There is great wisdom in these words from one of this country’s greatest Presidents and comedy performers. There is now an enormous amount of research (discussed in my book, Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health) that documents the power of humor to help cope with the most difficult burdens in our daily lives. Examples in natural disasters also bear out many people’s ability to laugh in the midst of tragedy. Why is it that some people joke about the tornados or hurricanes that have destroyed their homes? “Compact Car.” (Sign on a car flattened by a tree following a tornado.) “House for Sale. Half Off.” (Sign in front of what was left of a house following a California mud slide.) “House for Sale. Some … [Read More...]

The Laughter Remedy

Welcome to the Laughter Remedy

Dr. McGhee’s Most Recent Books

Humor Supports the Body’s Battle vs. Specific Diseases: The Latest Research

The Seven Humor Habits Program: Assessing Your Gains from Following the Radio Broadcasts over the Past 3 Months

The Seventh Humor Habit: Find Humor in the Midst of Stress

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