Laughter and MIRTH (Methodical Investigation of Risibility, Therapeutic and Harmful): narrative synthesis

Is laughter really the best medicine? Two clinical pharmacologists combed through the medical literature on laughing and sorted the findings into benefits and harms, as if laughter were a drug.

The benefits included less anxiety, more pain tolerance and a cheerier outlook; the harms ranged from fainting and headaches to the occasional dislocated jaw. Their verdict: the balance is probably favourable, and to stop spreading germs, try laughing up your sleeve.