On the Matters of the Heart PART IV...... Laughter is the Best Medicine for the Heart.
Can a Laugh every single day keep the heart attack away? Maybe!!
Need a reason to laugh? A good laugh can keep your heart healthy as well as improve your emotions and reduce stress.
In recent times, many researchers have shown a strong connection between our emotions and our cardiovascular health. Emotions such as anger, hostility, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and depression all lead to a higher tendency of Heart diseases. The reverse is also right as being happy, laughter, and having a great sense to humor can help one to stay very healthy.
A study done at University of Maryland showed that laughter can alleviate stress, reduce inflammation and give the body a good cholesterol level.
Here are some good effects a Laugh can give to the heart:
- it reduces inflammation in the arteries. In the University of Maryland Medical Center, it was shown that a good laugh can make the inner linings of arteries to dilate by releasing Nitric Oxide and this aids the relaxation of the arteries,improves blood flow, reduce inflammation and prevent plaque formation. This effects are similar to those that are produced drying aerobic exercise or taking cholesterol lowering drugs.
- Laughter reduces and lowers stress hormones. A good laugh protects the heart by lowering the blood pressure due to its effect on the reduction of the stress hormones (cortisol and epinephrine) that cause constriction of blood vessels.
- A good laugh gives the heart a workout. It gets the heart pounding and pumping and this burns calories as if you are walking at a slow pace. Think of it as an exercise.
- Boosting the immune system. An ongoing research which is still in its baby stage claim that it may increase the number of T-cells in the body which boosts immunity.
- Laughing may stabilize good cholesterol levels. In a study of diabetic patients, having high cholesterol and evalated blood pressure, it was shown that laughter helped increased good cholesterol levels by 26% in the end of one year of studying them.
What and What can you do to get a good dose of laughter everyday?
One advantage of a good laugh is you can do it at any period of time at any given place. It also feels good and soothing to laugh. It's found that the healthy effects of laughter acts immediately and have been seen to last for 24hours.
Anything you feel is humorous will do the trick,watch crazy and funny videos online, share jokes with friends and family, attend a comedy show. Play with pets such as cats and dogs. Play with kids. A good laugh is very contagious and chill were found to laugh more than adults.
The Dark side of Laughing too much
Some say that laughter may not be the best medicine, but it helps unless it provokes a dangerous effect!!
Excessive laughter can cause harm that are very instant and related to the dose. A lady having a case of racing heart syndrome collapsed and died due to excessive laughter...
What are these dangerous effects and they include...
- Headaches
- It's a trigger for asthma attacks
- Incontinence
- Abdominal hernia protrusion
- Inhalation of foreign bodies during an intense laughter
There is also a pathological case of laughter in Gelastic Seizure, a form of epilepsy in which a person suddenly experiences a sudden surge of energy and bursts out laughing or crying for no reason and it's more common in males than in females.
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To the discuss, laughter really does good like medicine. It gives a sense of calm. Those cramps we feel after a bout of intense laughter help to tighten the abdominal muscles.
You could even develop packs from laughing. Lol.
Thanks for this post. More dollars to your account!
Looking at this post one thought asked me 'what of these people laughing up and down streets'? But another thought said 'moderation is the watch-word.
One can laugh to death but then laughter is a trick to stay young