Laughter is a great stress buster which in turn leads to better heart health. There is no denying; mental stress has a direct connection with impairment of the protective lining of the blood vessels. This leads to a whole range of inflammatory reactions, plaque in the coronary arteries and ultimately stress set the stage for heart attack.
“Laughter is part of the human survival kit”- Comedian David Nathan
Yes, a good belly laugh can actually protect your heart and help your heart health. The proverb – “Laughter is the best medicine” has some kind of truth in it when it comes to the point of heart health.
Research report suggests – A good belly laugh can protect your heart
Several researches has been conducted in establishing the link between laughter and heart health and research reports clearly reveals laughter can
According to Dr. Steinbaum – the spokeswoman for the American Heart Association – laughter forces you to feel better. The effect of laughter also last for 24 hours. That’s definitely one of the good reasons to laugh every day. Dr. Steinbaum also says the risk of heart disease increases in depressed post-menopausal women.
Recent studies conducted by the University of Maryland Medical Center researchers’ revels some interesting facts about laughter and heart health
The researchers examined the blood circulation level of 2 distinct groups of subjects after letting them watch 2 completely different types of movies.
One group was asked to watch the war movie “Saving Private Ryan,” and the other group was requested to watch the funny film – “Something about Mary.”
It was observed that the blood vessel lining was constricted and blood circulation was decreased for the group which viewed “Saving Private Ryan.
On the other hand; for the group watching “something about Mary”, their vessel lining dilated and blood circulation increased.
Another study conducted by the cardiologists at the University Of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore further confirmed the connection between laughter and heart health.
The study found, people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh in a number of situations as opposed to people of the same age group and without any heart disease.
Although the researchers couldn’t confirm as why laughter protects the heart but the researchers and experts concluded that laughter is a great stress buster, which in turn leads to better heart health. There is no denying; mental stress has a direct connection with impairment of the protective lining of the blood vessels. This leads to a whole range of inflammatory reactions, plaque in the coronary arteries and ultimately it sets the stage for heart attack.
Research also proves, laughter with an active sense of humor protects the heart against attacks.
In a study researchers compared laughter and humor responses in 300 people. The participants were clearly divided into two groups. While 150 participants of one group had either survived a heart attack or undergone heart surgery, the other 150 people of the second group did not have any kind of heart disease.
A questionnaire with a series of multiple-choice was handed out to both the groups to find out how little or how much people laughed in certain situations. Another questionnaire with a series of true and false answers was also handed out to find out the level of hostility and anger.
The research result clearly revealed people with heart problems responded less humorously to situations. The result also showed that the group of people with heart disease laughed less and also displayed more hostility and anger.
Belly laugh as typically a common sense medicine
Yes, it has been tested and proven that humor and laughter can take the stress and edge off. Humor is also an incredible communication tool that helps in relieving tension and facilitates building relationship.
Humor and laughter are also great stress busters and therefore enhances health and prevents stress related illness.
Laughter’s Cardiovascular System Benefits
Medically speaking; laughter can create positive cardiovascular system effects.
Takeaway? Laugh your way to a healthy heart. Exercise, eat a balanced diet, check BP and cholesterol level and last but not the least laugh a few times!
Stay happy. Stay well.