There is a particular therapy which does not cost anything but believe to keeps the heath healthy and also boosts one’s immune function and helps reduce stress – HUMOR THERAPY. What is more apt the term  ; “Laughter is the best medicine.”   

No one really understand the actual mechanism of enhancing health merely that  laughter increases the blood flow in our arteries and result in a reduction of stress hormones leading to a reduction in blood pressure. This in turn may reduce the risk of heart disease. When the laughter stops, the blood pressure returns to normal and stress hormones are reduced - actually strengthening the immune system. Furthermore, the benefits of laughter go beyond heart disease. Laughter has been found to decrease tension and reduce pain. It also appears to boost the body’s production of infection-fighting antibodies. Laughter even has the potential to help in the treatment of depression and other emotional illnesses.

So next time, besides watching your diet, cholesterol and exercise, add one more item: a good dose of laughter 

Following are some researches conducted on Humor Therapy  (NST) 

  1. In 2005, researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore had 20 healthy volunteers watch a 15-minute clip from the 1996 comedy movie King Pin. Then, 48 hours later, they viewed a clip from the 1998 war movie, Saving Private Ryan. After each movie, researchers used ultrasound to measure physical changes in blood vessels.On average, blood flow increased 22 per cent after the comedy clip, and decreased 35 per cent after the war film.
    The principal investigator of the study, Professor Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Centre, explained that laughter appeared to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow.“Given the results of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” he said. “At the very least, laughter offsets the impact of mental stress, which is harmful to the endothelium.” He advised a generous dose of laughter every day for best results.“We recommend at least one funny film daily, though we’d suggest watching it while on a treadmill,” he said. “We’d suggest getting humour from a variety of sources, including bringing funny pictures of family members into the office, getting together with friends for a true happy hour on a regular basis and, of course, watching a sitcom or comedy.”

  2. According to a more recent study, published in the The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine in December 2006,  people hit by severe diseases have better survival chances if they can laugh easily. The researchers, from the Norwegian University of Science and St. Olav’s Hospital in

    Trondheim, Norway, invited 52 patients who are completely dependant on dialysis, to answer questions designed to gauge their propensity to laugh.
    For instance, a question would describe a situation that different people might see as either comical or annoying; the participant would be asked whether he or she would likely laugh.
    If the patient belonged to the half of the group that scored higher on sense of humour, he or she “increased their odds for survival by on average 31 per cent”, independent of other known health characteristics, the researchers wrote.
    Up to 80 muscles are used during a hearty laugh, the blood pressure rises, the heart beats faster and blood oxygen levels increase.

 

  1. In fact, a study released by German gelotologist Professor Gunther Sickl revealed that a one-minute guffaw has the same health benefits as a 45-minute gym workout.