We all know that laughter is the best medicine. It has been observed that people who laugh as little as 15 minutes a day are less likely to suffer from chronic high blood pressure and heart disease then those who don’t. The reason is that when you laugh the inner lining of the blood vessels expand and blood flow is increased. The inner lining of our blood vessels is called the endothelium and it can become hardened. The expansion triggered by laughing helps to keep it supple and elastic thus reducing the danger of cardiovascular disease. According to one study 15 minutes of laughing is equivalent to the benefit gained from twice the amount of aerobics only with out the aches and pains associated with exercise. On the other hand mental stress, worry and anxiety release cortisol and other hormones that contract the blood vessels raising blood pressure and consequently forcing cholesterol into the endothelium raising the possibility of blocked arteries.
The mind is an important factor in determining our health levels and should always be considered when looking at disease causes and maintaining factors. After all the way you think about something determines pretty much how you feel and if the emotions you experience are negative you can be assured your body chemistry will represent that. Changing our negative reaction to things and other people can have a very positive effect on our sense of wellbeing and as scientists are now beginning to realize also helps to boost our immune system. But changing well worn habits of thinking is far from easy. Happiness is a skill that can be learnt and good health is part of that.
