E-Paper
Watching funny movies best for one's heart
A new study has found that watching a funny flick that makes you giggle is good for your heart.
A new study has found that watching a funny flick that makes you giggle is good for your heart.
Researchers have claimed that watching a movie or even a programme that produces laughter indeed has a positive effect on vascular function and is opposite to that observed after watching a war or horror film that causes mental stress.
In the study, volunteers watched segments of a funny film - such as 'There's Something About Mary' - on one day and on another day watched the opening segment of the stressful war film 'Saving Private Ryan'.
Lead researcher Dr Michael Miller of the University of Maryland said that when the volunteers watched the stressful film, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response, vasoconstriction, reducing blood flow. The finding confirms previous studies which suggested there was a link between mental stress and the narrowing of blood vessels. However, after watching the funny movie, the blood vessel lining expanded.
