By Kathleen Blanchard RN for EmaxHealth.com

According to the results of a new study, mirthful laughter can benefit diabetics. The study adds to a growing interest in mind-body research, known as lifestyle medicine. Laughter has been shown to benefit health, and research continues to uncover physiologic changes that occur in the body that benefit health when we laugh.

Norman Cousins wrote about it in 1979, publishing Anatomy of an Illness: A Patient’s Perspective, after Cousin’s illness from an autoimmune disease went into remission after his doctor approved laughter as part of his treatment. Cousins believed laughter could benefit health, so he followed a steady regimen that included watching funny videos. At the time, the benefits of laughter had only been suggested.