Laughter is the best medicine

June 4, 2007

Kajol & Urmila “Laughter is the best medicine,” they say. It’s no joke — a good laugh can actually improve your health. Generally, a sense of humour is what you look for in an individual. Laughter is simply a physiological response to humour. In the last few decades, researchers have studied effects of laughter on the body and have come up with some potentially interesting information on how it affects us.

Laughter benefits

Increases blood flow: New evidence suggests that laughter helps your blood vessels function better. It acts on the inner lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium, causing vessels to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. In other words, it’s good for your heart and brain, two organs that require the steady flow of oxygen carried in the blood. Cardiologist Michael Miller and colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, US, tested blood flow in 20 healthy men and women after they watched 15 to 30-minute clips of the comedy movies Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary and a stressful film, the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan. The researchers measured blood flow both before each viewing and one minute after it ended. The blood flow became slow by around 35 per cent due to stress but watching a funny film increased the blood flow to around 22 per cent.
According to Dr Miller’s reports, 30 minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system.
Helps in pain management and healing: Children watching funny videos while undergoing painful medical procedures needed less pain medication during and after the procedures. Hospitals in the UK have recognised the power of laughter and some use ‘clown doctors’; replicas of ‘Patch Adams’ to go into children’s wards and inject a bit of fun.
Boosts the immune system: Laughter raises the levels of infection-fighting antibodies, lowers cortisol; stress hormone levels and provides a barrier for the fight-or-flight substances, which come into action at the time if rage or stress.
Clears the respiratory tract: Experts suggest that laughing 100 times is equivalent to 10 minutes on the rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike! A good, loud laugh gives your diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, and back muscles an aerobic workout.
Prevents heart attacks: Anger and fear are two emotions that are responsible for heart attacks. So instead of rage, how about a bout of continuous giggling?
Helps you relax and get sound sleep.
Invokes happy feelings: Laughing lifts up your spirits, frees you from depression, helps you think clearly and gets rid of pain and misery. Shared laughter promotes unity and bondage thus stimulating social support.

Put more laughter into your life

Read humour, watch comedies, figure out what makes you laugh.

Surround yourself with funny people who make you laugh.

Develop your own sense of humour.

Laugh to your heart’s content — grin, beam, giggle, chuckle, guffaw or simply smile.

Practice laughter yoga without distracting or irritating others.

“Laughter is definitely the best medicine. It keeps your relationship with your loved ones going. And it’s not always that I need to laugh to ease my tensions, even if I see my friends laughing, it relives me instantly. There are times when I laugh till I cry. Sometimes my friends come over to my place and we sit and laugh for hours. I think it’s the best therapy. I wish to be part of a laughter club. Even from a distance when I hear them laugh, I feel like laughing. So I hope to join them someday.” — ACTRESS SANDHYA MRIDUL

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