Have a Good Laugh

Did you know that laughing:
· Burns calories
· It is good for your heart
· Reduces stress
· Helps relieve pain

“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” ~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.
http://helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Laughter, I try to find something to laugh about daily, some days it doesn’t take much! I don’t know about you, but after a good laugh, I feel good. It gives me something to smile about during the day, especially if the day is not going well, it gives me something positive to focus on.There are times I have laughed all the way to or from work, I am sure people in the adjacent car are wondering what is going on.

From some of the research I did for this blog, there is apparently no concrete evidence of laughter’s health benefits. The waters are murky. What I did manage to find had so much psychobabble and science and research about something so simple, laughing. So take this with a grain of salt, please. Apologies to Henny Youngman, I know, I am showing my age.

By the time I finished the fourth in a series of four articles, all researched by the same group, I was, well, laughing. They actually were checking urine samples for hormones or chemicals released after a good laugh. How about asking the people how they felt after a good laugh?

I did learn that:
· A good laugh does help relax muscles which could explain why some are prone to wetting their pants from laughing so hard.
· It is good for increased heart rate (not as good as an aerobic workout, but for some, much more fun), increased respiratory rate and oxygen consumption.
· A good laugh is also a good stress reliever.
· “It takes a greater number of facial muscles to frown than it does to smile”.
There is no known source as to where that saying originated.There is no evidence in how many more or less muscles and energy it takes to smile vs. frown, there is lots of information on that debate on the internet.

According to Robert Provine, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland, studies have been done showing that laughing does help patients with pain relief. It worked for Norman Cousins who wrote “Anatomy of an Illness” about his personal experience with the diagnosis of a painful disease. He found that laughing for 10 minutes allowed him 2 hours of pain free sleep. He watched Marx Brothers movies and episodes of Candid Camera. I must say, I remember watching “Coconuts”, a Marx Brothers movie, when I had strep throat, it hurt like heck to laugh because of the pain in my throat but I swear,I couldn’t help myself. And, let me throw this in, why do people tell you the funniest danged things when you have stitches in your belly area? Not nice at all.

Yes, you can burn some calories from a good laugh. Vanderbilt University researcher, Maciej Buchowski did a small study on laughing and calories burned. With a good 10-15 minute bout of laughing 50 calories were expended. According to the article I read, in order to lose a pound at that rate, you’d have to laugh, heartily, for 12 hours. What a great way to burn off even a few calories and you feel happy.

I found this intriguing. This is from a study done in Japan.

“Blood sugar levels. One study of 19 people with diabetes looked at the effects of laughter on blood sugar levels. After eating, the group attended a tedious lecture. On the next day, the group ate the same meal and then watched a comedy. After the comedy, the group had lower blood sugar levels than they did after the lecture.” http://women.webmd.com/guide/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter, For more information on this study reference Diabetes Care May 2003, P. 1651-2

So, with all of this new found knowledge, what does it have to do with losing weight and physical activity? I will tell you. A sense of humor and a good laugh helps keeps your spirits up. Laughter makes us feel good. When we feel good we have a positive attitude which will help in sticking with lifestyle changes. And, besides, it’s contagious. Ever hear a group of people laughing and wonder what is so funny? Spread the joy.

Here is a question to think about- Is a sense of humor genetic or learned? E-mail me, if I get more than 1 response, I will compile the results and post them.

Do you have a joke that made you cry you were laughing so hard? Have a real life funny story? Share it. Darave2@mt.gov