A dash of humour keeps people healthy and increases their chances of reaching the retirement age.
But after the age of 70, the health benefits of humour decrease, according to researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
The study is based on a comprehensive database from the second Nor-Trøndelag Health Study, called HUNT 2, which comprises health histories and blood samples collected in 1995-97 from more than 70,000 residents of a county in mid-Norway.
"There is reason to believe that sense of humour continues to have a positive effect on mental health and social life, even after people have become retirees," says project leader Sven Svebak, a professor of neuroscience at NTNU.
