Could laughing help you feel better?
Winter chills are certainly lingering despite the fact that it's spring, but we could have a secret weapon to help fight them off.
Research reveals that Brits who are not feeling at their best could be using the power of laughter, with three quarters of the population agreeing it makes them feel better when they’re suffering from a winter chill.
Women believe in the healing powers of a good old belly laugh more than men with 83 per cent agreeing it helps them feel better compared with 70 per cent of men.
A survey - commissioned by the makers of Day & Night Nurse – suggests that those in London are the most frequent sufferers of the sniffles in the past year whilst those living in Cardiff and Edinburgh are showing signs of being the next poorliest cities surveyed. Those in the South West and East Midlands suffer the least.
Dr David Lewis, neuropsychologist and founder of Mindlab explains: “Laughter can be a tool used to help people feel better when they’re ill. Preliminary research from my laboratory suggests laughter may well have a positive effect on how you feel when you have a cold. We took 14 people suffering from colds and after 30 minutes of watching comedy clips, over 70% said their symptoms weren’t as bothersome and they felt more energised.”
As part of the research, results revealed that almost a third of Brits feel a hearty chortle is the ‘best medicine’ when suffering from cold or flu, when compared to a hug from a loved one and listening to their favourite music.
More than three in five agreed that, when feeling ill, they seek to alleviate their symptoms as quickly as possible instead of wallowing in self-pity.
In light of the survey findings, the makers of Day & Night Nurse and comedian Joey Page are taking a dose of the laughter medicine straight to the streets of some of the poorliest cities in the UK - London, Edinburgh and Cardiff - offering sickly residents a much needed pick me up. Watch the video below.
Tagged in Health cold and flu