You've heard people say laughter is good medicine, now a new study is putting that to the test.
Using funny movies, the study found laughter appeared to cause blood vessels to open up for easier blood flow, but when the same group of volunteers watched a stressful movie, the blood vessels had the opposite effect and a potentially unhealthy reaction reducing blood flow.
"It's good to see that we have some natural ways that may be beneficial to our heart health. Laughter has previously been shown to be good for our immune system and now we extend those findings to show that laughter may very well be good for your heart," says Dr. Michael Miller, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The study was presented today at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando. Previous studies have also shown a link between mental stress and constriction of blood vessels.
All content ©Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and KCBD, a Raycom Media Station. 