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Daily Living

LAUGHTER AND HEART HEALTH

A patient went to the doctor with a sore throat.
The doctor: “Your tonsils have to come out.”
The patient: “I want a second opinion.”
The doctor: “Okay, you’re ugly, too.”

If you think that was funny, laugh out loud.  Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against having a heart attack.  But the benefits of laughing don't stop with your heart.  Laughing has previously been found to help fight infections, relieve hay fever, ease pain, and help control diabetes.¹

Laughter is the best medicine. ~Author unknown

“The old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart,” says Dr. Michael Miller, associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.²

“We don’t know yet why laughter protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels.  Stress can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack.” ³

Dr. Miller led research that compared humor responses of 300 people. They found that the patients interviewed who had heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in situations such as wearing the same outfit to a party, compared to people of the same age without heart disease.³

But was the lack of humor cause and effect of having heart disease or something else?

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

In another study, Dr. Miller and his team decided to investigate the possible healthy effects of laughter. Using movies to gauge the effect of laughter on heart health, they tested blood flow in 20 healthy men and women. Each watched a clip from Kingpin (a Woody Harrelson comedy).  At least 2 days later they watched the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg’s graphic war movie).

• During the war movie blood flow decreased by an average of 35%.
• During the comedy it increased by an average of 22%, and the effect lasted 30-45 minutes.

The conclusion? Laughter may be as healthy as exercise! ⁴

Figure: Endothelium and the heart wall.  The endothelium is the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels. The loss of proper endothelial function is a hallmark for vascular diseases, and often leads to atherosclerosis.².

Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one place. ~Josh Billings

The benefits of laughing lie in its effect on the inner lining (endothelium) of the walls of your arteries. The endothelium plays a vital role in maintaining blood flow by regulating the diameter of the blood vessels.³

Damage to the endothelium is one of the factors involved in cardiovascular disease.

Laughing seems to make the endothelium expand; stress seems to narrow it. So laughing helps keep your artery walls fit and well, helping to maintain good blood flow.³

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. ~Bob Newhart

Studying therapeutic benefits of laughter began 20 years ago when Norman Cousins, in Anatomy of an Illness, told his story of overcoming a fatal disease by watching old movies and Candid Camera shows. “Laughter is a great antidote to illness,” he concluded.⁵

Since then, Drs. Lee Berk and Stanley Tan, of Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, have continued research on laughter. Their studies show laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, increases muscle relaxation, and boosts the immune system.¹

Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit. ~Author Unknown

Researchers suggest that we should try to laugh more. The best prescription for a long, happy, healthy life is to eat a good nutritious diet, exercise regularly, and add in a few good laughs every day.³

Think about it. Maybe healthy people don’t laugh because they are healthy. Maybe they are healthy because they laugh!

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RX for laughter

Here are some things you can do that might cause that all important response... a good belly laugh!

• Watch comedy movies or TV shows.
• Watch cartoons.
• Read a humorous book.
• Read or tell jokes.
• Listen to humorous radio shows or CDs.
• Play with children - they'll make you chuckle!
• Watch funny videos on You Tube, such as funny animal videos.
• Go to a live comedy review or play.
• Get together for some lighthearted conversation with good friends.
• Re-live humorous experiences.
• Get someone to tickle you! Literally or figuratively.
• Look for opportunities to be just plain silly! It's fun! And it makes you and others laugh!
• Look at yourself in a mirror and see how funny you can make your face.

Source: www.smart-heart-living.com

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