Nature, nurture and the things being remembered

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Laugh Lots, Live Longer 
“Funny or die” has a whole new meaning, thanks to a large study published 
in April in Psychosomatic Medicine. Women with a strong sense of humor 
were found to live longer in spite of illness, especially cardiovascular 
disease and infection. Mirthful men seem to be protected against infection. 
Norwegian researchers reported findings from a 15-year study on the link 
between sense of humor and mortality among 53,556 women and men in 
their country. The team assessed the cognitive, social and affective 
components of humor using a validated questionnaire, and examined death 
from specific conditions: heart disease, infection, cancer and chronic 
obstructive pulmonary disease. 
The findings show that for women, high scores on humor's cognitive 
component were associated with 48 percent less risk of death from all 
causes, a 73 percent lower risk of death from heart disease and an 83 
percent lower risk of death from infection. In men, a link was found only for 
the risk of death from infection
—those with high humor scores had a 74 
percent reduced risk. The gender differences could be due to a slight 
decline in humor scores as the men aged, the authors suggest. No 
association was found for the social and affective components of humor. 
The cognitive component is a fairly stable aspect of personality and may 
influence the way individuals attribute meaning to everyday experiences, 

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says study co-author Sven Svebak, a professor emeritus of neuromedicine 
at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In this way, it may 
buffer against conflict in social interactions and overall stress, preventing 
the escalation of stress hormones, Svebak says. When these hormones, 
such as cortisol, are chronically elevated, they suppress immune functions. 
Although there is a genetic component that determines sense of humor, it 
is also developed through socialization. “I expect that children who lack 
adult models for the use of humor as a coping resource in the face of 
challenges are less likely to activate their sense of humor to cope with 
everyday life when they grow up,” he says. But if you had a humorless 
childhood, never fear
—studies show people can learn to embrace the 
absurdity of life at any age.