That laughter is healthy is more than just old folk wisdom. Scientists are certain that laughter improves lung function, oxygenates the brain, boosts immune defenses and reduces stress hormones. But laughter has many more positive effects on our bodies. Below, we introduce you to the many effects of laughter.
Why laughter is healthy
Laughter increases the concentration of immunoglobulin A in saliva and throughout the throat. There, the body’s immune system fights off bacteria and viruses that cause colds, coughs, sore throats, colds and flu.
Scientists at Loma Linda University, California, found that during laughter, the body’s production of killer cells increases significantly. Stanley Tan, endocrinologist, explains, “All these neuro-hormones behave like an orchestra, each instrument plays a special note. Laughter makes the whole orchestra more melodic or harmonious. In other words, laughter brings balance to all the components of the immune system.”
Laughter yoga as medicine
Even gratuitous or even practiced laughter has an effect. Ilona Papousek, professor of neuropsychology at the University of Graz, Austria, had trained laughter yoga for four weeks in her study with stroke patients and measured significantly lower blood pressure values than in a comparison group.
The Indian physician Madan Kataria had developed laughter yoga, also called Hasya yoga, in 1995. It combines certain techniques of intentional, unprovoked laughter with breathing exercises from Hatha yoga.
At the Neurological Therapy Center in Cologne, Germany, the effects in patients with neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke or Parkinson’s disease, are compared with those of patients who participated in clown therapy.
