A Laughing Matter

Studies have revealed that laughter has beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, immunity
and pain tolerance, and it even burns a few calories. In the most recent research, older
adults, average age 82, were instructed to add simulated laughter to their bi-weekly 45-minute
exercise sessions. Their class included 8-10 laughter exercises, each lasting 30 seconds to a
minute. Even though the participants were faking laughter to begin with, it usually became
genuine. After 6 weeks, the laughter group had improvements in mental health, self-confidence
and aerobic endurance compared to the exercise-only group.