Laughter: the best treatment for your heart

qCoZK43qNETKiVkFjGOVmWyTnYU@480x356

With the approach of the summer holidays and the promise of rest and relaxation for vacationers, we invite you to make sure that laughter is a firm fixture of your summer break. Laugh out loud, laugh till you can laugh no more, above all, laugh with good heart. For it has now been scientifically proven that laughter, the most exquisite, least costly music that exists, is of major benefit to your cardiovascular health.

Due to its positive influence on your internal physiological balance, even in the face of external stresses and shocks, laughter is an amazing de-stressor which has a particularly good impact on our arteries. Laughing heartily several times a day can not only reduce stress hormones but also triggers the vasodilatation of the brachial artery. Stressful situations, on the other hand, result in the arteries narrowing, leading to reduced blood flow and an increased likelihood of falling prey to cardiovascular disease. The variation in arterial diameter in these two very different scenarios can be as much as 30 to 50%. In other words, laughing (or stress) has a substantial impact upon our arteries. In fact, the impact can be compared to that of taking regular physical exercise or statins. The positive effect of laughter upon our heart is therefore worth taking seriously, given that cardiovascular illnesses are the number one cause of death in France, especially in the female population.

So, don’t be glum – let yourself get carried away by this life-giving force which is a key player in the fight to maintain your cardiovascular health and a healthy physical and mental balance. Keeping your spirits up by laughing already presents illnesses with a serious challenge, as many patients can testify (hospitals are making more and more use of humour). Acting as a kind of ‘detox’ for both body and mind, laughter helps fight fatigue and shores up our morale. Above all, it helps restore our joie de vivre. Letting go and laughing out loud acts as a release, reducing stress and relaxing your body, which in turns helps you to get to sleep more easily and to have a better quality of sleep too.

All of these positive ingredients will help you to pamper your oh-so precious heart, which is all too frequently disturbed by negative thoughts.

Partager
Tweet