Laughter Therapy
Brings The Blood Pressure Down!

Don`t rule out one of the best, most enjoyable therapies there is. Laughter therapy! It really works!

But how can one face life with a smile when any happiness is robbed through worrying about high blood pressure? That is a great concern to most that visit this site, and I don`t want you to feel that I am insensitive to your anguish.

Far from it. The stress brought on by worrying how to bring blood pressure under control is very real to many of you, so the last thing you need is for someone to say, “Oh! Don`t worry! There`s nothing that a smile won`t fix!”

What I aim to do is to make you aware that laughter is a powerful emotion that can be tapped into. If you are finding it hard to smile at life`s woes, you need to set the mood. But first of all, you want to know how laughter therapy can help.

he researchers have their hypothesis on several mechanisms that could be the answer but they don`t know enough to put their finger on what really is doing it.

Back in 1928 an American doctor named Dr. James Walsh mentioned in his book “Laughter and Health” that when the diaphragm moves up and down with laughter, the effects on other organs are like a kind of exercise. Most of us love a good “belly laugh” now and then and sometimes, if you`ve noticed, we end up with a mild pain in the side or stomach muscles because we have laughed so much. But don`t you feel good afterward?

This “feel good” effect could be caused by a release of chemicals (endorphins) that are released when we laugh, but doctors are not sure. An abundance of these same neurotransmitters are released by the pituitary gland also when we exercise beyond our fitness threshold which make us feel good. Runners experience this euphoria which is nick-named “runners high”. But they are also released when we listen to our favorite music, so doctors think that both music and laughter have an affect on the endothelium, the artery lining which relaxes smooth muscle and opens the artery.

This connection between music, humor and health was made by Dr. Miller at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Back in March 2005, he discovered that 20 participants who watched a section of a stressful film and also of a comedy film had amazing results. After the stressful clip 14 out of the 20 of the participants had restricted blood vessels and blood flow had reduced, whereas after the comedy clip 19 out of 20 had dilated blood vessels with increased blood flow. Source – http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/laughter2.htm#ixzz1pwDxQiqc

Then in November 2008 Dr. Miller repeated a similar test but this time with stressful music and joyful music. The tests produced the same result as the laughter experiment, when exposed to the two different pieces of music.

But did you know? In a similar vein (excuse the pun), it was written long ago in the Holy bible, “A heart that is joyful does good as a curer.” – Proverbs 17:22

But how can you get your mind off the brevity of your condition to bring about a state of laughter or enjoyment? Many hospitals today have a humor therapy room, a “laughter” room where patients are treated to sessions of comedy films or shows. You could do this at home just by hiring or borrowing comedy films that will treat you to regular laughter therapy.

You could also alternate it with sessions listening to your favorite music. This may be a better option if you have heart problems and need to keep emotionally calm.

Yes laughter therapy can do you a world of good if you set the mood. But one caution! There is a time for everything, and sometimes it`s not the time to laugh. Family or friends may be going through a bad time so with those in mind, we need to pick our time to participate in this kind of therapy. We don`t want our laughter to be a source of irritation to them, unpleasant to their ears. A wise saying from the Holy bible also says, “For as the sound of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the stupid one, and this too is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 7:6.