Laughter study and research

Dr.Lee S. Berk, and his team of researchers at Loma Linda University, California suggests that similar to exercise, scheduling humor into you daily routine could be benficial to your health.

The team of researchers have demonstrated that the simple anticipation of a scheduled positive event, or experience can initiate positive changes in neurodocrine and stress hormone response.

In plain English, looking forward to a happy experience may be good for you.

These findings about anticipation are based on a study where healthy males were randomly divided into two groups.

Throughout the study both groups were treated the same, with the exception that the "experimental group" watched a sef-selected humorous video, but the control group did not.

The participants of both groups were notified three days in advance as to which group they belonged to.

The researchers drew blood from both group participants at several intervals, before, during, and after the hour that the participants either watched the humorous video, or waited in the neutral 'non-stimulating' room, as was determined prior to the study.

The blood tests showed that the expectation of the video positively affected viewers even before the video started.

The higher levels of these positive hormones in the group that watched the humorous video were sustained not only during the video watching, but also afterwards.

The physiological effects of a single one-hour session of viewing a humorous video appeared to last from 12 - 24 hours in different individuals.

The study showed that laughter from happiness, or joy optimizes the activities of specific components of the immune system and offsets the symptoms of chronic stress.