Smile Therapy: What It's For and How It Works

In Italy, there are 6.000 clown doctors who treat adults and children thanks to the benefits of laughter. It reduces stress, improves sleep, and helps the intestines.

di |
adams patches

“Laughter is good for the soul” is not just an ancient proverb: having fun is an excellent method to prevent and treat diseases and smile therapy helps thousands of sick people around the world every year. Smiling protects us from diseases, delaysaging and effectively eliminates the stress.On average, children laugh up to 40 times more than adults in a day, and this has a series of beneficial effects on the body.

Clown therapy

La nucleoside of the smile, also called clown therapy when applied to children, was invented by the doctor Hunter Doherty, better known worldwide as Patch Adams, thanks in part to the film starring Robin Williams. Over the course of his long career, Doherty has treated thousands of patients, first at home and then in his hospital. Always using the game technique, of the fun, distractions. and of the smile. Among other things, Doherty, even during some tours in Italian pediatric hospitals, has always explained that for the nucleoside of the smile No special training is needed. All it takes, he says, is "love, compassion, and humor."

Who are the clown doctors?

These aren't traditional doctors, but rather staff who work, for example, within hospitals during treatment and rehabilitation programs. Clown doctors are professionals who combine medicine with the art of clowning to bring smiles and moments of lightheartedness to hospitalized patients, especially children. Their work focuses on the use of of humor, positive emotions, and artistic performances to reduce stress, alleviate fear, and improve patients' emotional well-being. Clown doctors are often trained in theatrical and improvisation techniques, as well as receiving specific training on how to interact with patients sensitively and appropriately, respecting their different conditions and needs.

Smile therapy

Smile care is a “soft” therapy, a new form of medicine, viewed with some skepticism by traditional, drug-based medicine. A recent Canadian study confirmed that a good mood protects against infections, causing a smaller reduction in immunoglobulin A. According to one of the first researchers on the topic of laughter therapy, Professor William Fry of Stanford University (USA), one hundred laughs a day have the same invigorating effect on the body as ten minutes of rowing. The most well-established smile therapy is that of children's hospitals, as also told in the film Patch AdamsIn Italy there are approximately six thousand clown doctors. Furthermore, laughter therapy has spread from pediatric wards to nursing homes. elderly, rehabilitation centers, orphanages, and shelters. There is no standard method for this therapy, but various centers adopt different approaches, such as the use of animals, in the case of the Gaslini Children's Hospital in Genoa, or the use of clown costumes by the medical team, in the case of the Burlo Garofolo Children's Hospital in Trieste. Laughter therapy is typically conducted in groups, especially in the morning, to ensure a wonderful day.

Benefits

The effects are multiple, and the results demonstrate an increase in healing rates that traditional medicine cannot explain. A study conducted on people suffering from chronic bronchopneumopathy, for example, demonstrated that laughter improved breathing capacity. This is just one of the benefits of laughter therapy But there are many others. Here are some:

  • Increase optimism. Laughing helps us to look at things positively, removing tension and worry. trough.
  • It reduces cholesterol. When we start laughing, pulmonary exchange increases and the level of fats present in the blood decreases.
  • Relaxes the body. When we laugh, our heart rate and blood pressure increase, arterial tension decreases, and muscles relax.
  • It helps the intestines. Laughter has a purifying function, which helps the body fight constipation and to expel carbon dioxide, allowing for improved intestinal function.
  • It eases the pain. When we are in pain, laughter helps us distract ourselves and when the pain returns it no longer has the same intensity as before.
  • It induces sleep. Laughter helps reduce internal tensions, which keep us awake. So, a laugh before bed helps us have sweet dreams.
  • Relieves it stress.. Smiling fights physical and mental weakness by relieving accumulated tension.

What stimulates the smile

When you smile your brain releases endorphins, substances that have, first and foremost, natural pain-relieving qualities. Hence the reduction of stress and a feeling of serenity that is stimulated by the smile. Furthermore, the smile stimulates emotions, increases self-confidence, and positively modifies mood.

Hospitals in Italy where clown therapy is practiced

The best-known Italian hospitals where clown therapy is practiced are:
  • San Raffaele Hospital - Milan
  • Niguarda Hospital - Milan
  • European Institute of Oncology (IEO) - Milan
  • Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic, A. Gemelli University Hospital - Rome
  • Careggi Hospital - Florence
  • Maggiore Policlinico Hospital - Milan
  • Santa Maria Nuova Hospital - Reggio Emilia
  • San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital - Rome
  • Hospital Meyer Pediatric Hospital – Florence
  • Hospital Umberto I Polyclinic – Rome
  • Hospital Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital – Rome
  • Hospital “Santo Stefano” – Prato

(Cover photo taken from Patch Adams Facebook page)

Read also:

Want to see a selection of our news?

Don't Waste