mental benefits laughing

Laughter may protect the brains of older individuals, study finds

Mom and daughter laughing istock

It’s a common saying: “Laughter is the best medicine.” And now, science may prove it to be true.

A new small study from Loma Linda University in Southern California found a relationship between humor and memory in older individuals. For their research, the scientists analyzed 20 generally healthy seniors as they watched a comedic video for 20 minutes. For comparison, a control group of 20 seniors didn’t watch anything for the same period of time.

The participants in each group were then given memory tests and provided saliva samples in order for the researchers to test their hormone levels. Those who watched the funny video scored much higher on the memory tests than the control group, and the laughter group had lower levels of the hormone cortisol, which is typically associated with stress.

Study author Dr. Gurinder Bains explained that laughter causes the body to release endorphins and send dopamine to the brain – improving overall activity and function.

“Learning ability and delayed recall become more challenging as we age,” Bains, a Ph.D. candidate in rehabilitation sciences at Loma Linda. “Laughing with friends or even watching 20 minutes of humor on TV, as I do daily, helps me cope with my daily stressors.”

Source: Pick news

Health Benefits of Laughing

Laughter works wonderfully well in the moment, but it also has some surprising long-term health benefits

What can laughter do?:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Increase vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood
  • Give a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles
  • Reduce certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline
  • Increase the response of tumor- and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells
  • Defend against respiratory infections–even reducing the frequency of colds–by immunoglobulon in saliva.
  • Increase memory and learning; in a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores
  • Improve alertness, creativity, and memory
  • Humor and creativity work in similar ways, says humor guru William Fry, M.D., of Stanford University–by creating relationships between two disconnected items, you engage the whole brain.

Humor works quickly. Less than a half-second after exposure to something funny, and electrical wave moves through the higher brain functions of the cerebral cortex. The left hemisphere analyzes the words and structures of the joke; the right hemisphere “gets” the joke; the visual sensory area of the occipital lobe creates images; the limbic (emotional) system makes you happier; and the motor sections make you smile or laugh.

Source: care2