If Laughter is the Best Medicine, Let’s Use It as Medicine
The New Science
of Humor in Healthcare
By Prof. Frank Chindamo,
Certified Humor Professional
With: Jennifer Kljajic, LCSW, BCD
Comedian Trent Ford,
And Comedy Writer Henry Deckard
How You, Your Doctor,
and Your Healthcare Facility
can Benefit from Humor
Book Summary
We’ve all heard “laughter is the best medicine,” but why is therapeutic humor treated like woo-woo instead of the evidence-based intervention it actually is?
Prof. Frank Chindamo, CHP—former Saturday Night Live writer turned Certified Humor Professional—investigates why modern medicine has ignored one of humanity’s oldest healing tools. Drawing on cutting-edge research, he reveals how laughter reduces cortisol, boosts immunity, and triggers endorphins… all without a copay.
The book shares the “why” laughter works, and who’s using it – from Kevin Hart’s turning of a tragic accident into comedy gold to US military heroes to even the former Pope. We spotlight the comedians like Jon Stewart and John Oliver who advocate for health using humor, and the MDs who use humor in their practice or their blockbuster YouTube channels. We even offer you a “How To” prescription to use humor smartly for yourself, your doctor, and your healthcare institution.
Part manifesto, part memoir, and entirely hilarious, this book shows healthcare to finally take humor seriously. Because we can prove laughter works, so it’s time we prescribe it.
60%
Pain Reduction Through Comedy (AT Still University Study)
Over 90%
Of patients reported Pain Reduction Through Comedy (USC Cancer Survey)
The Science of Humor
Evidence-Based
Backed by rigorous research from USC, Chapman, and AT Still University, proving the physiological benefits of comedic intervention.
Clinical Applications
Real-world strategies for hospitals and medical facilities to integrate humor into daily patient care protocols.
Alternative to Opioids
A natural, side-effect free method for your pain management and stress reduction through humor.
Enter the humor-intervention. If Laughter is the Best Medicine, Let’s Use it as Medicine isn’t a collection of ‘dad jokes’; it’s the definitive field manual for the humor in healthcare revolution. Using the ‘LaughMD’ framework, which lowered:
Stress and pain in over 90% of patients at USC Norris Cancer Hospital,
Provider stress by 13% in just 3 minutes at Chapman University, and
Chronic pain by 60% at AT Still University,
this book breaks down the hard science of the ‘mirth response.’ We’re talking about a curated, comedy-powered methodology that turns patient phones into therapeutic delivery systems.
Get a Taste of the Medicine:
Sample Chapters
Prologue
How Humor Works
Chapter 1
Comedy and…the Pope?
Chapter 19
How Humor Helps You
Chapter 20
How Humor Can Help Your Doctor
Be a Good Person, Buy it Now
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Audiobook
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Digital eBook
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Prof. Frank Chindamo, CHP
Lead Author & Founder
of LaughMD, Inc.
Professor Chindamo is a Certified Humor Professional who has spent decades bridging the gap between comedy and clinical care. As a professor at USC, UCLA, and Chapman University, he pioneered the study of how strategic laughter acts as a functional medical intervention.
Clinical Breakthroughs
His research utilizing the LaughMD framework has demonstrated a 13% reduction in provider stress and provided 91% pain relief for patients at USC’s Norris Cancer Center.
Career Highlights
SNL, Ghostbusters, Forbes & LA Times features. Winner of 30+ Industry Awards.
Education
SNL, Ghostbusters, Forbes & LA Times features. Winner of 30+ Industry Awards.
Meet the Contributors
🏥 Jennifer Kljajic, LCSW, BCD
Clinical Contributor
Trained within the Comer School Development Program developed by the Yale University Child Study Center and went on to co-found and lead clinical initiatives in collaboration with Stanford-affiliated faculty, advancing multidisciplinary approaches to chronic pain and safe deprescribing practices.
Post Masters Certificate from Loyola Chicago University
Co-founder, Lucid Lane, Stanford Affiliated Partners, addressing Chronic Pain
Challenge In Michigan for safe de-prescribing practices.
CEO and Clinical Director of NeuroTree, which addresses Chronic Pain, and pain counseling.
✍️ Trent Ford
Comedy Writer
Contributing Writer
As a Comedic Arts major at Emerson College, Trent is learning how people laugh and why they laugh. Trent has been doing stand up comedy since the end of his 6th grade and only has now started to get good at it. He’s performed at many nationally-known venues including the Gotham and Broadway Comedy clubs. Trent is known for his work on campus being a last minute actor on every film shoot and for bullying the local Chipotle into free guacamole. You can find where Trent is performing by following his instagram TrentFord155
✍️ Henry Deckard
Comedy Writer
Contributing Writer
Student at The University of Southern California eager to break into the world of comedy and entertainment. His previous work includes the poem he wrote his mom for Mother’s Day when he was 8. He enjoys cooking, long walks, and most importantly, making others laugh.
Expert Endorsements
“Prof. Chindamo’s work provides a comprehensive and funny exploration of why humor belongs in the healing process. It’s an essential resource for practitioners and patients alike.”
Gina Ramsey, LICSW
Author, Writer, Speaker, Life Trasformation Strategist at Minneapolis VA Heathcare System
“A compelling presentation of science and clinical application. This hilarious book proves how laughter can be a legitimate, data-backed medical intervention.”
Joseph B. Singer, MD
Senior Attending Physician at East Bay Community Action Program, Providence, RI
“Blending humor with deeper ideas about healthcare, Frank Chindamo offers a very funny take on wellness that is both practical and inspiring.”
Dra. Helena Suarez
Former Miss Venezuela
Note to the Reader or Listener
How to Experience This Book:
Thanks for buying this book. If the authors have succeeded, we’ve combined hard science with some light humor. Jokes and Facts. Dare I say it, Learning and Fun. (Please don’t come after me with a claw hammer.)
Part One is the background. What is comedy, how does it help your health? Where did it come from? And how is it different from being tickled? (Not the last one, but the first two.)
Part Two talks about the Heroes of Humor, non-medical people who have used comedy to make the world a better place, a healthier place. From the former Pope to comedians to a military hero.
Part Three is about the Prescribers of Comedy; the doctors who pioneered and have tried to perfect the use of laughter in medicine. If part Two describes heroes, these are super-heroes.
Part Four? Now that you know all of the above and seen all the ways humor, comedy and laughter are used to make people feel better, we’ll show you how to make YOU feel better. The “What’s In It For Me” section. The good stuff. The payoff. A grand finale!
If you’re a medical professional or an academic, you’ll appreciate the citations within the chapters and the APA Citation lists at the end of each chapter. (If you’re a normal person, try to just gloss over them. 😉
And as for the links, there are many great references and over 100 YouTube videos, all “fair use,” that illustrate the points made and are hopefully great comic relief.
If you’re reading the electronic version of the book, just click on them. If you have a paper copy, first, my God, thank you, big spender!! And second, use the QR codes to open those links with your phone. They’re fun!
If you’re listening to the book, that’s great too. You’ve been emailed a separate list of the links, so you can see them after you stop driving, exercising, or pooping.
In all cases, be safe, enjoy, and when you’re done, take action. Make your health better, help your patients, or be really obnoxious and yell at your healthcare institutions and get them to use humor. Tell them, “If laughter is the best medicine, let’s use it as medicine!”
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