Laughter is Good for the Heart

A patient walks into a clinic, terribly anxious.

Patient: Nurse! Please help me! I am shrinking. I am losing an inch of height every few minutes!

Nurse: Sorry, the team is on their way to an emergency. You’re just going to have to be a little patient.

(Source: VA.Gov)

We hope you enjoyed this little joke. How are you feeling right now?

Are you smiling inside and feeling a little happier than you were a moment ago?

It’s no secret that laughter is good for the body and soul. A healthy laugh releases endorphins, relieves pain, decreases stress, improves self-esteem, helps people bond with others, and provides

Did you know that laughter is also good for your heart?

“Laughter is inner jogging” ~ Norman Cousins, “Anatomy of an Illness”

According to the Heart Foundation, having a good chuckle counts as cardio! It gets your heart pumping and burns the same number of calories as walking.

When laughter releases those feel-good hormones, it decreases stress in the body while blood vessels open and blood pressure goes down.

Enjoying a good laugh helps push “good” cholesterol into the blood and the bad LDL cholesterol out.

Try a few of these ideas to make laughter a regular part of your daily life:

1. Learn a new joke a day and share it with others

2. Fake it till you make it: smile and laugh for no good reason and your body will not know the di erence

3. Hang out with people who make you laugh

4. Watch a funny tv show or movie (but don’t binge watch)

5. Spend time with little kids or pets and enjoy their uninhibited silly antics