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Laughing is great for body, mind and spirit. Don’t confuse laughing with being happy. Although, being happy is important too, the actual process of laughing has some very interesting and positive affects on the human body.

Studies have found that laughter releases bad and distressful emotions that cause harmful chemical effects on the body. They found that laughter activates the T cells, B cells, immunoglobulins, and NK cells; it helps to fight viruses, and regulates cell growth. This could be very important in the research for cancer since it also fights against tumorous cells. Your body steps up production of natural killer cells that attack viral infected cells and some types of cancer and tumor cells.

A person's heart can reach up to 120 beats per minute (bpm) when laughing. Laughing can lower your blood pressure, increase vascular flow, and boost the immune system. Your body produces more gamma interferon, an antiviral protein that “turns on” the various parts of your immune system. Your body increases the antibodies that fight upper respiratory tract insults and infections It gives the diaphragm, abdominal, intercostal, respiratory accessory, and facial muscles a complete workout. Some people, depending on how they laugh, may even use their arms, legs, and back muscles when laughing.

Studies have found that laughter also releases endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are our bodies' natural pain killing opiates. In a study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, patients were told “one-liners” after surgery and before painful medication was administered. Those exposed to humor perceived less pain when compared to the others. Imagine that… a medicine that’s free and that has no bad side effects. The pharmaceutical companies haven’t quite figured out, as yet, how to get those two qualities into a single pill, but in the meantime a good laugh will get you by. We all know that a good laugh leaves us feeling great. That wonderful, euphoric, post-laugher feeling is a type of “positive stress” that produces healthy and positive emotions.
source: www.examiner.com /Jane Fitch