The phrase, “laughter is the best medicine” seems to have been buried six feet under. To manage cardiovascular problems today, we place ourselves under a strict, serious regimen of diets, exercise, food supplements and activities designed to decrease the risks of attack. Has everybody forgotten to have fun?

Researchers believe that laughter can reduce the risk of heart attack. That’s a big statement but true nonetheless. Who would have ever thought a good active sense of humor and a good laugh helps the fight against heart attack. Sounds simple right? Studies show that if you laugh, you reduce your risk of heart disease, and these same studies also found that individuals with heart disease laughed less than their heart healthy counterparts; in fact laughter can be used as a way of reducing tension and is usually followed by relaxation, thus taking the stress off of your heart. Laughter protects the heart.

Laughter is the newest weapon in our fight against heart disease. It was noted that in a study that healthy people would laugh more often and they use laughter or humor to get them out of bad situations. A good laugh can go a long way in reducing pain. It may help a person who has had a heart attack. A study on this showed that rehabilitation was much more effective for patients who watched funny videos each day than ones who did not watch funny videos. Laughter has been effective in the recovery of illness. Hospitals have even created rooms for humor and put in cable TV with comedy channels.

The medical researchers found that laughter can lower blood pressure helps reduce our stress hormones, and gives a charge to the immune system and many other functions of our body. Laughter also releases our body's natural painkillers and gives us an overall sense of feeling good. Research shows that laughing fifteen minutes each day could prolong your life. This comes from stimulating the blood flow and helping your heart. Laughter has similar health benefits as aerobic exercise but comes without the aches and pains. Laughter is a good medicine and even the expectation of laughter was very effective.

It showed that a person expecting to watch a funny program or video lowered their stress inducing chemicals and helped release stress relievers. Brain chemistry seems to be changed by laughter; being able to laugh seems to give a person more control over them selves as well as over the situation. Have you ever thought that a good belly laugh could be like a trip to the spa for your upper body? When you laugh, you stretch many of the upper body muscles, these muscles relax and unknot, even your abdomen and diaphragms contract.

So, the next time you begin to feel those "raging" hormones being released; stop, find a funny picture, watch a funny video, or just watch your children at play; humor will find its way into your emotions, and rather than experience a heart attack you might find yourself experiencing a laugh attack. Not only will your heart thank you, so will your family and co-workers!