Laugh a Little to Protect your Heart
A recent study by the American College of Sports Medicine reveals the many benefits of laughter in daily life. Not only does laughter relieve stress, it also helps lower blood pressure and greatly decreases the risk of heart disease. Here is an excerpt from the study:
A small group of healthy adults were instructed to watch either a comedy or documentary film, and were monitored for carotid artery activity during the films.
Subjects who watched the comedy benefited from improved “arterial compliance,” the amount of blood that moves through the arteries at a given time. Conversely, decreased arterial compliance is often associated with high blood pressure and heart disease.
“Arterial compliance was improved for a full 24 hours after subjects watched a funny movie,” said lead researcher Jun Sugawara. “Laughing is likely not the complete solution to a healthy heart, but it appears to contribute to positive effects.”
A second study found similar results in vascular function. When another group watched either a comedy or a somber documentary, blood vessels became more dilated during the comedy. Constricted blood vessels often lead to high blood pressure. Like the first study, favorable effects on vascular function were sustained for 24 hours.
“Not only did comedies improve vascular dilation, but watching a documentary about a depressing subject was actually harmful to the blood vessels,” said Takashi Tarumi, lead researcher on the study. “These documentaries constricted blood vessels by about 18 percent.”
What a great excuse to rent a few funny movies tonight!
The excerpt in this article was posted by Medical News Today. To read the article in its original format, click here.
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Tags: American College of Sports Medicine, Arterial Compliance, Blood Pressure, blood vessels, Carotid Artery, Heart Disease, Laughter, Medical News Today, Stress, vascular