By Amber Bass
Everyone knows that “someone” who always wears a smile and is constantly laughing. According to Care2.com, new studies show, that person is not only more likely to be happier but healthier as well! A Better Brain at Any Age: The Holistic Way to Improve Your Memory, Reduce Stress, and Sharpen Your Wits, author Sondra Kornblatt researches how laughter can actually make you feel better. Gelotology is the study of laughter and its effects on the body. Laughing isn’t just fun, it’s a natural pain killer. The pituitary gland releases its own pain-suppressing opiates after a good chuckle. A study of two cousins revealed after watching the Marx Brothers; they not only felt better but slept well. Laughter lowers blood pressure, increases vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood.
Not only does it give a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles but releases certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. It increases the response of tumors and disease-killing cells. Memory and learning; in a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores. Next time you encounter that happy-go- lucky person, you might just want to join in the conversation, for your health!
