AARP The Magazine - February/March 2012

YOU & YOUR

Health

New research shows why
big yuks have big benefits
Laughing
Matters
Pain Relief
B Y HOLLY ST. LIFER PHOTOGRAPH BY ONDREA BARBE

Doctors have long
suspected that laugh-
ter is good for your
health. Now new
research sheds some
light on a comic cure:
It seems the muscular
exertion required to
let out a good guffaw
releases endorphins,
those feel-good brain
chemicals that boost
mood and can also
reduce pain. Other
studies have found
that laughing lowers
blood pressure and
improves the immune
system. The one ca-
veat: You should be
“laughing till it hurts,”
as opposed to a slight
titter, says lead author
Robin Dunbar, Ph.D.,
an Oxford psycholo-
gist. In recent years
laughter-therapy
workshops—in which
instructors teach par-
ticipants how to pro-
duce those deep belly
laughs—have prolifer-
ated, most notably in
cancer centers. Want
a home remedy?

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