More than a decade of investigations conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore suggests that laughter is an effective way to improve vascular function and reduce the risk of heart disease.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) wants to prevent more than 1 million strokes and heart attacks over the next five years, but how should individuals go about attaining a healthy heart? Studies have shown that laughing yoga may be a good start.
More than a decade of investigations conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore suggests that laughter is an effective way to improve vascular function and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Lead researcher Michael Miller recently announced that his latest studies confirm findings announced 10 years ago – namely, that while eating healthy heart foods is important for good vascular health, so is laughter.
Miller described a series of experiments designed to demonstrate the effect of different emotional states on blood vessels. He said that his team asked hundreds of volunteers to watch funny or sad movies, or, alternatively, to discuss happy or disturbing situations.
He explained that simultaneous vascular monitoring indicated that people who watched tragic films – for example, Saving Private Ryan – experienced vasoconstriction, or the tightening of the inner lining of blood vessels (a tissue known as the endothelium).
By contrast, participants who laughed their way through comedies like There's Something About Mary experienced the opposite effect. Their veins and arteries dilated, contributing to endothelial flexibility.
The team concluded that laughter of any sort appears to have a positive effect on vascular health.
Any activities that regularly encourage a good chuckle, cackle or guffaw – like laughing yoga – could decrease the risk of negative cardiovascular events, researcher said.
These findings may be a boon for the USDHHS, which announced that it has launched an initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and potentially save $444 billion in annual medical costs.
Called Million Hearts, the initiative will encourage Americans to take better holistic care of their hearts.
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Tags: healthy heart, healthy heart food
