Belly Laughs Does Your Body Good – Humor Health Tip

The University of Maryland Medical Center has done some really interesting research on the health benefits of laughter. Checkout out why belly laughs are great for your blood flow and other aspects of your health.

By Carly Romalino
Link to Original Article

Laughter might not be the best medicine, but a University of Maryland Medical Center study found that regular spirited belly laughs can have positive effects on blood flow, immune system health and stress management.

Prescriptions might not say “Laugh a few times a day and call me in the morning,” said Dr. Michael Miller, director of the university’s Center for Preventive Cardiology, but it is something everyone can use.

“After all, we could all use some de-stressers,” Miller said.

Among the benefits, Miller and other cardiologists at the Baltimore university found evidence that laughter, as a positive emotion, can improve blood flow. Mental stresses can cause constriction of the inner lining of blood vessels, which he said comprise the largest organ in the body.

While laughing, the inner lining of those vessels dilate, allowing for smoother blood flow to vessels throughout the body.

“There are also some suggestions that perhaps through the release of endorphins, there is some improvement in immune function,” Miller said.

The study showed that a long, emotional laugh Ð one that may bring someone to tears, in a good way Ð will help patients recover from an illness, and could prevent some illnesses from developing.

“The best laughter is the ones when you feel good. You feel relaxed, and you feel like you’ve worked out in a way,” Miller said. “The bottom line is, you really feel that endorphin rush.”

While laughter seems to impact a patient’s health, it might also help to relax during uncomfortable office visits and hospital stays, according to Dr. Joey Rottman with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, a contracted obstetrician/gynecologist at the Kennedy Family Health Center in Somerdale.

“It takes away the stigma of its being something serious and terrible, and that we should be afraid,” said Miller, an associate professor at UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Humor in the medical field can help ease patients’ nerves, especially during intrusive procedures and examinations. Rottman, who studied improvisational comedy at the Second City theater in Chicago, uses humor with his patients.

“It makes the physician more comfortable … you have more relaxed patients,” he said. “They are also just more open … The doctor has to learn to lighten up.”

For maximum laughing potential, Miller suggests bringing photographs to the workplace that spark a funny memory.

“Putting together a list of things that made you laugh in the past. Hang that up near you,” he said. “Think of jovial moments that might be something to refer to in addition to the traditional things, like watching your favorite sitcom.”