– A hearty laugh is excellent for your heart
A famous heart surgeon was waiting patiently while the mechanic attended to his Mercedes car.While removing the cylinder heads from the motor,the mechanic, proceeded to brag, “Sir, just like you, I too open hearts, take valves out, grind them, put in new parts, and once I’m done, this baby will purr like a kitten.
So how come you get all the money when you and I are both doing basically the same work?” To which the surgeon very calmly answered, “Try doing it with the engine running.”We’ve all come across people who take life a bit too seriously for their own good. They worry incessantly about their health, they worry about money, and they worry about what the future will bring. They carry labels such as a stick-in-the-mud, a wet blanket, or someone who’s devoid of a sense of humor.
Well, the medical profession has come up with solid evidence to prove that laughter is indeed the best medicine and that we’d do well to keep our funny bone active and alert if we’re really serious about enjoying good health.
In a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, they arrived at the conclusion that laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s 73rd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. The results of the research indicated that people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh in a variety of situations, when compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
According to Michael Miller, M.D., F.A.C.C., Director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, “We don’t know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack.”
More interestingly, the study revealed that people with heart disease were less likely to recognize humor or use humor to get out of difficult situations. In general they laughed less even in positive situations, and they displayed more anger and hostility than the average individual.
Dr. Miller recommends that a dose ofregular hearty laughter should be added to the usual recommendations of exercising, not smoking and a diet of low-saturated fat,to lower the risk of heart disease.
Like they do in some of our own home-grown laughter clubs to incorporate laugher into one’s daily activities,it may be well worth your while to join one of these.
Most Indians love comedy – consequently, most of our movies include a comedy track, so it shouldn’t be all that difficult to get our daily dose of humour to keep our hearts ticking away. Above all, try not to take yourself too seriously – there’s a lot left in our lives to be enjoyed rather than frittering away precious years steeped in anxiety about the future.
Reference: Laughter Good For Heart | University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/news-and-events/news-releases/2000/laughter-is-good-for-your-heart-according-to-a-new-ummc-study#ixzz2zIWxj19y
Cartoons: http://www.glasbergen.com/?count=7&s=heart%20disease