Laughter the best medicine?

'Laughter best medicine' according to research presented to the American College of Cardiology.

Laughter and health

Laughing appears to boost your blood flow and it may reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

Why does laughter expand your blood vessels?Researchers are not certain how laughter expands blood vessels. One theory is that the effect is a result of the movement of the diaphragm muscles as you laugh, chuckle, or guffaw. Another idea is that it is caused by chemicals called endorphins being released as we laugh.

Are there other benefits of having a good laugh?

There is lots of evidence that laughter does a lot of good things:

• it reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort
• it reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics as well as non-diabetics
• there is new evidence that laughter helps your blood vessels to function better. It acts on the inner lining of blood vessels, causing vessels to relax, expand and increase blood flow
• laughing reduces allergic responses, including hay fever symptoms
• laughing is thought to help you in fighting off illnesses by boosting the immune system
• laughing lifts your mood - even if you fake your laugh
• laughing reduces the effect of stress by lowering stress hormone levels
• laughter establishes, or restores as the case may be a positive emotional climate and a sense of connection between two people

Humans were designed to laugh

Laughter is nature's stress buster. It lifts our spirits with a happy high that makes us feel good and improves our behavior towards others.

Just a few generations ago happy healthy humans spent 20 minutes a day or more in laughter. Now adult daily laugh time is down to 5 minutes or less in many countries. This is one of the worst aspects of modern society.

Laugh yourself healthy

WE all know that laughter makes us feel good. A regular 20 minute laughter session can have profound impact on our health and well-being. Laughter is gentle exercise. It fills the lungs and body with with oxygen, deep-clears your breathing passages and exercises your lungs. This is really important for people who don't get regular aerobic exercise.

When we laugh, our bodies release a cocktail of hormones and chemicals that have startling and positive effects on our system. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted, your immune system is boosted and more. Western science is just starting to discover the great effects of laughter.