The Healing Benefits of Laughter

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By Betsy Noxon

Fifteen minutes of daily laughter is good for cardiac health, says a doctor whose research pinpoints the benefits of a hearty har-har.

A good dose of laughter is not only fun but also good for the heart. Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, believes laughter is indeed the best medicine. In a study published last year in Heart, a British medical journal, Miller revealed some of the heart-healthy benefits of daily chortles, guffaws, and giggles. In the study, people who watched a comedy experienced an expansion of the endothelium—the inner lining of the blood vessels—allowing increased blood flow. Laughter also releases a chemical that protects against clot formation and buildup of cholesterol.

"You can release daily stress, which is harmful to the endothelium, by laughing," Miller says. "A good, hearty, emotional laugh for 15 minutes a day is good for cardiac health."

Angela Rodriguez of Pasadena, California, knows the benefits of laughter. That's why she starts her day with deep breathing exercises and a hearty, "Ho ho ha ha ha."

Two years ago, Angela, a property manager in her mid-50s, was suffering from depression and battling high blood pressure, diabetes, and weight gain. And after both her parents passed away, the stress was overwhelming.

When her aerobics instructor noticed the problems, she suggested that Angela check out laughter yoga. "After doing laughter yoga just a few times, I felt exhilarated and energetic. People said I was happier," Angela says. Over the course of a year, her blood pressure, blood glucose, and weight all dropped. She gradually gained control of her blood pressure and diabetes. Her physician, impressed with the changes in Angela's health, began attending the sessions, too.

Getting your daily dose of laughter isn't difficult—and you can forget the traditional yoga poses. "In laughter yoga class, we put our body through the motions of laughing," says Sebastien Gendry, founder of the American School of Laughter Yoga in Los Angeles. "The science of yoga is that the mind and body are a mirror of one another, and the breath is the link."

Doug Dvorak, certified laughter leader and founder of the Chicago Live Life Laughing Club, starts his sessions by encouraging class participants to connect with their childlike, playful spirit. He leads them in deep diaphragmatic breathing, clapping with arms lifted high over head while chanting "Ho ho ha ha ha." One laugh leads to another, and soon the room erupts in contagious laughter. There's no doubt they all feel happier than when they arrived.