Laughing At Stupid Films Good For Your Heart - Study

Hey fatso! Are you worried that you'll eventually blob away into a huge clump of cholesterol and die of a giant coronary? Screw exercise - a scientist has said that watching Kingpin is just as good for your heart.

Researchers at the University Of Maryland have discovered that laughing at a comedy film is just as good for you as a vigorous bout of aerobic exercise, proving that the old saying "laughter is the best medicine" is completely true. Be warned, though; watching Saving Private Ryan is just as likely to knacker you into an early grave.

Michael Miller, the director of the Centre for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland, has studied the healing power of laughter and has found that laughing at a good comedy is terrific exercise for your heart. According to The Independent, Miller claims that:

Laughter causes the tissue that forms the inner lining of the blood vessels, the endothelium, to dilate, increasing the blood flow in the same way as a bout of aerobic exercise.

For his study, Miller roped in 20 healthy young volunteers to wire themselves up and watch 15-minute clips of comedies such as Kingpin (DVDs) and There's Something About Mary while Miller and his team studied the blood flow in the brachial artery in the arm before and after each clip. In 19 of the 20 volunteers, there was an increase in blood flow after watching the comedy clips.

However, the same volunteers were then subjected to clips of 'distressing' movies, such as Saving Private Ryan. Miller and his team discovered that blood flow dropped during these sequences. So, basically, funny films make your heart healthy and unfunny films make you unhealthy. Which means we're going to think twice before going to see Fun With Dick And Jane. Michael Miller says of his study:

"The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium is similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise. We don't recommend that you laugh and don't exercise but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week and 15 minutes of laughter daily is probably good for the cardiovascular system."

We're not so sure about this whole 'laughter is the best medicine' claptrap, though. We've seen Patch Adams - a film with the message that laughing is good for you - and we pretty much felt like killing ourselves afterwards. So tread carefully, folks.

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Jan Michaels can be found at: Free Heaven or Articles Heaven www.hecklerspray.com/hecklerspray/2006/01/laughing_at_med.html

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