Laughter is after all the best medicine, at least as far as heart health goes, a study, by researchers from the University of Maryland Medical Center, has found. According to the researchers, watching a comedy that supplies a barrel of laughs leads to better functioning of the blood vessels, increasing overall health.
“The old saying that laughter is the best medicine definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart. Watching a good comedy can benefit us in the similar way we see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise,” said Michael Miller, lead author of the study.
Under the study, researchers made 20 healthy young adults watch sequences from films that were either comedies or tragedies. A gap of about 48 hours was given between the viewing of the sequences. In this period, the study subjects had to abstain from alcohol, vitamins and aerobic exercises, all of which affect the flow of blood in the body.
The researchers measured the flow of blood among the subjects before and after every film viewing session. Around 160 measurements of the flow of blood in the brachial artery, which is the best indicator of blood flow in the whole body, were collected and analyzed to judge the body's response to laughter and disturbing scenes.
In 14 out of the 20 subjects, the blood flow in the brachial artery was retarded after they saw a tragic scene. In contrast, the brachial blood flow of 19 of the 20 surged after watching a comic sequence. “The overall difference in blood flow between the mental stress and laughter phases exceeded 50 per cent,” Miller said.
According to the researchers, laughter might be widening the arteries, an opposite reaction to the artery-narrowing effects of mental stress. “The extent of the impact of watching a sad film was of the same magnitude as remembering episodes of anger and doing mental arithmetic, while the impact of watching a funny film was equivalent to a bout of aerobic exercise or starting on statin treatment,” he added.
Earlier studies have shown that laughter decreases blood pressure and also releases endorphins in the body, boosting the feelings of well being and happiness in a person. This, however, should not mean that a person should stop exercising, relying only on laughter to increase the blood flow in the body. “We don't recommend that you laugh and don't exercise but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week and 15 minutes of laughter daily is probably good for the cardiovascular system,” Miller said.
According to Maryland University humor therapist Judy Goldblum-Carlton, the findings are not surprising. “When you laugh heartily, every organ is being massaged including your heart, lungs and digestive system. Headaches can just go away,” she said.
The findings of the study have been published in the journal
Heart.
