Live happy tip of the day: Laugh out loud for 15 minutes a day to keep heart disease at bay

So, how many times you laugh in a day? Less. That could be a reason why your cholesterol levels are going for a toss.

'Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain,' a famous Charlie Chaplin quote is what you should always remind yourself about whenever you're stressed. The belief that laughter has some therapeutic effects goes back to the olden times when people from various scientific communities pointed it out. Since then, laughter, as a natural medicine, has been used in several forms like laughter yoga, laughter clubs etc., to imbibe positive energy among people and heal them naturally.

Psychological studies have found that children between the age group 4 and 5 years laugh about 400-500 times in a day compared to adults who laugh only 14-15 times in a day on an average. 'Today's is the age of competition. Everyone is competing with everyone else for literally everything. Particularly, in big cities, life has become really hectic and mainly deadline driven, which causes a lot of stress that multiplies over time to deteriorate health,' says Rahul Chandhok, senior consultant psychiatrist at Gurgaon's Fortis Hospital. Looking at this laughter should be actually prescribed to people, just like any other medicine.

How does laughter actually help?

Laughter boosts your immune system and releases certain compounds called endorphins or 'the feel good happy hormones.' It improves oxygen supply to the brain by improving blood flow. It also helps reduce blood pressure, thereby improving your heart health. Scientists suggest that laughter has the ability to reduce stress and inflammation of the arteries. It also increases the levels of good cholesterol. Studies have also shown that laughter reduces the risk of heart disease in post menopausal women.

In fact, Dr Michael Miller from the University of Maryland Medical Centre and the author of a study on effects of laughter on endothelial cells looks ahead positively for a day when doctors all over the world start recommending everyone to get at least 15 to 20 minutes of laughter ever day in the same way they recommend minimum 30 minutes of exercise.

References:

• Mary Payne Bennett and Cecile Lengacher. Humor and Laughter May Influence Health IV. Humor and Immune Function

• William B. Strean. Laughter prescription.

You may also like to read:

• Beat stress, fatigue and depression with laughter yoga
  
• Why laughter is still the best medicine
• Laugh out loud with Laughter Yoga sessions to stay fit
• Revealed the health benefits of laughter
• Why so serious? 6 amazing facts you didn't know about laughter

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