The results of the study, conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, were presented at the Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology on March 7, 2005, in Orlando, Florida.

The endothelium has a powerful effect on blood vessel tone and regulates blood flow, adjusts coagulation and blood thickening, and secretes chemicals and other substances in response to wounds, infections or irritation. It also plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease.

“The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so, 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,” says principal investigator Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “At the very least, laughter offsets the impact of mental stress, which is harmful to the endothelium.”

The study included a group of 20 non-smoking, healthy volunteers, equally divided between men and women, whose average age was 33. The participants had normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Each volunteer was shown part of two movies at the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum. They were randomized to first watch either a movie that would cause mental stress, such as the opening scene of “Saving Private Ryan” (DreamWorks, 1998), or a segment of a movie that would cause laughter, such as “King Pin” (MGM, 1996). A minimum of 48 hours later, they were shown a movie intended to produce the opposite emotional extreme.

Prior to seeing a movie, the volunteers fasted overnight and were given a baseline blood vessel reactivity test to measure what is known as flow-mediated vasodilation. For that test, blood flow in the brachial artery in the arm was restricted by a blood pressure cuff and released. An ultrasound device then measured how well the blood vessel responded to the sudden increase in flow.

Volunteers watched a 15-minute segment of the movie while lying down in a temperature-controlled room. After the movie was shown, the brachial artery was constricted for five minutes and then released. Again, ultrasound images were acquired. Changes in blood vessel reactivity after the volunteers watched a movie lasted for at least 30 to 45 minutes. A total of 160 blood vessel measurements were performed before and after the laughter and mental stress phases of the study.

There were no differences in the baseline measurements of blood vessel dilation in either the mental stress or laughter phases. But there were striking contrasts after the movies were seen. Brachial artery flow was reduced in 14 of the 20 volunteers following the movie clips that caused mental stress. In contrast, beneficial blood vessel relaxation or vasodilation was increased in 19 of the 20 volunteers after they watched the movie segments that generated laughter. Overall, average blood flow increased 22 percent during laughter, and decreased 35 percent during mental stress.

Several volunteers had already seen “Saving Private Ryan,” says Dr. Miller, but even so, some of them were among the 14 with reduced blood flow.

“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,” says Dr. Miller. “We don’t recommend that you laugh and not 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 on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system.”

Dr. Miller says this study was not able to determine the source of laughter’s benefit. “Does it come from the movement of the diaphragm muscles as you chuckle or guffaw, or does it come from a chemical release triggered by laughter, such as endorphins?” he asks. Dr. Miller says a compound called nitric oxide is known to play a role in the dilation of the endothelium. “Perhaps mental stress leads to a breakdown in nitric oxide or inhibits a stimulus to produce nitric oxide that results in vasoconstriction,” says Dr. Miller.

The current study builds on earlier research Dr. Miller conducted on the potential benefits of laughter, reported in 2000, which suggested that laughter may be good for the heart. In that study, answers to questionnaires helped determine whether people were prone to laughter and ascertain their levels of hostility and anger. Three hundred volunteers participated in the study. Half of them had suffered a heart attack or had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery; the other half did not have heart disease. People with heart disease responded with less humor to everyday life situations than those with a normal cardiovascular system.

So we get down on bended knees and beg you to keep checking in and stay tuned to our blog. Laugh, contribute your favorite inspirational comedy suggestions, stories  and clips and help us all stave off heart disease!

Contributed by Jeff Hutner of http://NewParadigmDigest.com

Edited by Susan Lange OMD, L.Ac      http://www.MeridianHolistic.com

To learn how to get the maximum benefit from Inspirational Comedy, sign up for our FREE Special Report on “The Healing Benefits of Laughter”  in the box on the top right of our blog  www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Doesn’t his improvised Jitterbuging Lindy Fox Hopscotch Trot (or what ever it is) look like fun?  It kind of feels good doesn’t it?  He’s charming and a pleasure to watch.  Maybe he stirs up that innocent spirit of fun that made us run, jump, and skip when we were kids, just because we felt like it.

My wife, Susan Lange, reminds me that fun and play is a good thing because it puts us into a pleasure state.  Can you remember back to a time when you were so happy that you couldn’t physically contain it?  A time when your happiness just bubbled up and you “did” something physically with your body?  Maybe you “jumped for joy.”

This is the question: when was it that you last jumped for joy?  If it’s been a while, then it’s probably been too long and now’s just as good a time as any for you to spring to your feet and jump as high as you can with a loud YIPPEE!

Doesn’t that feel good?

The reason it feels good is that you can lead your mind to joy by going through the physical motions of joy.  Physical play will make you happier.  Maybe you don’t feel like it right now.  Maybe you are saying to yourself that you aren’t in the mood to jump around and play.  I’d suggest that you not listen to that voice and just pretend that you are “in the mood”, even if it feels silly.  Try it and you’ll find that even the gloomiest funk can be turned on it’s head with regular fun and play.  Even exercise (the “mature” way to play) works to improve our mood.

Isn’t it true that you do some things, “just for the fun of it”.  Maybe now’s a good time to start doing more just for fun.

My advice is to practice fun and practice play.  With practice you’ll get real good at it, maybe even become a virtuoso of fun.  And, by the way, isn’t there kind of a spiritual ring to that word “practice?”

Could a spiritual realization be found in fun and play?  Hmm….

So what do you do for the fun of it?

Let me tell you what I have been doing.

I bought myself a skate board for my 51st. birthday.  I haven’t been on one of those for 40 years.  It’s a blast, and I love it, even if my friends and family fear for the health of my bones.

I’m teaching myself to juggle.  I have no idea if I’ll ever perfect this art of levity but it’s fun anyways.

Once I wrote a 15 minute comedy skit for me and some reluctant friends to perform in front of a real live audience.  You know what?  It actually worked.  People really laughed and we were all so buzzed afterward.

The kids in our family love it when we do puppet shows for them.  We love doing this for them and then watch the shows they do for us in return.

And..

My wife Susan; she skips. She jumps up and down, spontaneously, and claps her hands with a huge grin on her face.  After all these years she still amazes me and my heart fills with love for her when she does this.  This feels extra good.

A friend of mine takes the warm freshly dried laundry from the dryer and envelops his little kids with it for a long cozy cuddle with their Daddy.  It’s a love fest and they all bond.

If you ask me, this is the memorable stuff of life.

Leave me a comment.  I would really like to know what you do for fun and how it makes you feel?

*****

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

To watch this clip click here:

http://101comedies.com/laughterandyourbody/in-a-funk-physical-comedy-feels-good-if-too-sedentary/

It’s a common problem. The holidays roll around and another year has passed us by. We think about departed friends and family, the way it used to be and our regrets at not completing projects or commitments we made during the year and before long, we feel sad, depressed or any number of other feelings. I can relate to this as I lost my father on December 7th and have been feeling up and down since then. The real problem with this exercise in futility is that nothing can change any of what may have gone wrong or bring back the people we love. Only by moving totally into the present moment and filling that moment with the best memories we have of the people in our lives and the things we managed to accomplish this year can we lift the emotions that sap us of energy and compromise our immune system.

At 101 Comedies That Heal, part of our mission is helping move our subscribers into the present moment and filling their eyes and ears with healing humor that contributes to a healthier immune system. So with that in mind, here’s a new discovery for you. Who knew getting validated after shopping could be such an uplifting experience? Enjoy this great video from award winning Writer, Director, and Composer, Kurt Kuenne. This video is one of You Tube’s hottest. Our thanks and appreciation to Karma Tube, a wonderful free source of uplifting videos. You might want to consider giving yourself the gift of a free subscription.

Contributed by Jeff Hutner, Editor, www.newparadigmdigest.com
To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com
To watch this clip click here.

Do you feel out of place at Christmas, like you don’t fit in when all you want to do is have fun?  Do you feel misunderstood?  Rejected by your family?

In, “Elf”, a biological human socialized to elfin ways is returned to his own kind who see him as some kind of weird alien.  How can this “elf” in yellow tights overcome rejection by his father and society?

What happens when a baby is raised by elves in the North Pole?  You get Buddy (Will Ferrell), a six foot three man who thinks he’s an elf.  So when Santa sends him to New York City to find his father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), an uptight, workaholic who doesn’t even realize he has another kid, things don’t go quite as smoothly as one might hope.  Buddy roams around New York and discovers what it’s like to be a human while Walter tries to meet deadlines for work, once again abandoning his family.  But Buddy’s cheerfulness and Christmas spirit rubs off and Walter begins to reevaluate his priorities.  This is a charming Christmas story for all the family.

Memorable Quotes:

Buddy: The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.

Buddy: We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

Buddy: I think you’re really beautiful and I feel really warm when I’m around you and my tongue swells up.

Buddy: Actually, I’m a human, but I was raised by elves.  Carolyn: I’m a human… raised by humans.  Buddy: Cool.

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/9233kr

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Here’s a winter sports story that will inspire you if you’re facing a problem with impossible odds, unfriendly locals, and a totally new environment.

“Cool Runnings” is based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team to try to make it into the winter Olympics.  After being disgraced for cheating in the winter Olympics bobsledding event Irving Blitzer (John Candy) moves to Jamaica to start over.  Several years later a young sprinter dreams of going to the games.  But after he fails to qualify he runs into Irving and decides going as a bobsledder would be just as great.  He and a group of young Jamaicans make it to the games where they are laughed at and must ultimately prove that they deserve to be there.

Memorable Quotes:

Sanka Coffie: What I am saying to you, is that you are the kind of club-toting, raw-meat-eating, Me-Tarzan-You-Jane-ing big bald bubblehead that can only count to ten if he’s barefoot or wearing sandals.

Irwin Blitzer: Gentlemen, a bobsled is a simple thing.  Man: Yeah, so’s a toilet!

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/99a33u

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Sometimes no matter how stressful life can be, we’ve just got to move to shake loose our gratitude – and our bodies.
Brad & Matty remind us to ask ourselves, what are we grateful for today?

For me it’s the rain and cooler weather.  Here’s some more fun,  play and dance for you, – that anyone can do.  Wherever you are in the world – let’s dance together!

PS  This Gratitude Dance is offered by Roger Senders

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/9grq5d

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Have you ever felt like physical work or daily chores can be a drudge and oh, so dreary? Worried about your job? Suffering from work stress, job stress? In the military? Ever dreamed of escaping to a better life? Things could be worse …

Well, Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, with musical accompaniment by Mr. Iggy Pop, teach you how to have fun and play every day – especially when you’re supposed to be working and doing the same old chores. They teach you how to feel better and make the best of being exactly where you are in the moment. – whether in jail or in the horse trough.
And just watch Laurel’s knees. Boy, does he know how to move his body!

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/8sn8aj

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

In these days when the “Big 3″ car companies are taking a bashing
and road rage is a menace to us all, here’s a movie that transports
us back to a happier time when cars could be innocent and fun.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/9eyn2f

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Check out the Bear’s Kung Fu moves.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/7mmp8c

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com