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According to a small study involving 14 participants, genuine laughter can have the same effect on your hormones as exercise does (via CNN). According to the author of the study and preventive care specialist and researcher at Loma Linda University, Dr. Lee Berk, guffawing while enjoying some comedy clips resulted in creating a “a good balance” between the hunger and satiation hormones ghrelin and leptin (much like what happens after exercise) in the volunteers.
Furthermore, laughter can produce the same results as exercise when it comes to heart health too, according to Dr. Michael Miller, director of the Center of Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center (via CNN). “When you laugh for 15 minutes, the increase in the diameter of the blood vessel is similar to what you get when you run, jog or do aerobic-like activity,” he explained.
While you shouldn’t rely just on laughter to burn calories or regulate your hormones, science has long been interested in how getting some laughs may actually be beneficial for your health. In addition to the obvious mental health benefits of relaxation and joy that arise from a serotonin release during tittering, laughing also promotes an intake of more oxygen, which can be beneficial for your internal organs, per Mayo Clinic. And there is definite truth to the adage that “laughter is the best medicine,” as chuckling can promote immune system health, be a pain reliever, and fight the inflammation-causing stress hormone cortisol.
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