Scientists have found that Laughing could
dramatically improve your health - and
be as good for you as a deep state of
meditation. Laughing could dramatically
improve your health - and be as good for
you as a deep state of meditation.


Laughter can help minimize the damage
stress hormones cause.
Researchers at the Loma Linda University
wanted to find out if laughter altered its
effects. It can contribute to a number of
health problems, including high blood
pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Dr. Lee Berk, who also worked on the study
said: 'It’s simple, the less stress you have the
better your memory. Humor reduces
detrimental stress hormones like cortisol that
decrease memory hippocampal neurons,
lowers your blood pressure, and increases
blood flow and your mood state. The act of
laughter, or simply enjoying some humor,
increases the release of endorphins and
dopamine in the brain, which provides a
sense of pleasure and reward. These positive
and beneficial neurochemical changes, in
turn, make the immune system function
better.'


There are even changes in brain wave
activity towards what's called the 'gamma
wave band frequency', which also amp up
memory and recall.
Gurinder Singh, who led the study, showed a
20-minute laugh-inducing funny video to a
group of healthy elderly individuals and a
group of elderly people with diabetes.


The groups were then asked to complete a
memory assessment that measured their
learning, recall, and sight recognition. Their
performance was compared to a control
group of elderly people who also completed
the memory assessment, but were not shown
a funny video. Cortisol concentrations in
both groups were also recorded at the
beginning and the end of the experiment.


The research team found a significant
decrease in cortisol concentrations among
both groups who watched the video. Video-
watchers also showed greater improvement
in all areas of the memory assessment when
compared to controls, with the diabetic
group seeing the most dramatic benefit in
cortisol level changes and the healthy elderly
seeing the most significant changes in
memory test scores.


'Our research findings offer potential clinical
and rehabilitative benefits that can be
applied to wellness programs for the
elderly,' Dr. Bains said. 'The cognitive
components, learning ability and delayed
recall, become more challenging as we age
and are essential for older adults for an
improved quality of life: mind, body, and
spirit. Although older adults have age-
related memory deficits, complimentary,
enjoyable, and beneficial humor therapies
need to be implemented for these
individuals.'

Source: http://anitsdavid..com/2015/07/healthlaughing-can-dramatically-enhance.html

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