No fooling: Want to be a better doctor? Try improv. Want to improve mood, boost immunity, and reduce pain? Try laughing.
Today, fittingly, we’re offering some examples of the power of comedy and humor on medicine and healing.
- Medical schools are using improv—comedic improvisation—to transform goofy theater games into serious skills like empathy, teamwork, and super-quick thinking.
- Research shows that skilled adult play—like improv—may have psychological benefits for the participants.
- Parkinson’s Disease patients who participated in an improv comedy program demonstrated improvement in non-motor skills.
- Staff at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science (frequent guests of AAMC conferences) have long extolled the value of improv skills in helping scientists communicate better.
- Laughter has short-term (stimulates organs; activates/relieves stress response; soothes tension) and long-term health benefits (boosts the immune system; relieves pain; improves mood).
- In a 2017 documentary, many well-known comedians in their 90s—Betty White, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Mel Brooks—posit that humor might be part of the secret to thriving at this age. (You can find “If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast” on various streaming services.)
We’ve all been through a rather serious 12 months. Let’s follow the science and this medical advice attributed to Betty White: laugh often and “get at least eight hours of beauty sleep, nine if you’re ugly.”
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Stephanie Weiner
Director, Digital Strategy & Engagement
Association of American Medical Colleges
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