Laughter to release growth hormone

Here’s a link to an interesting article about some 2006 laughter research.  This is a quote from the article:  “Mirthful laughter diminishes the secretion of cortisol and epinephrine, while enhancing immune reactivity. In addition, mirthful laughter boosts secretion of growth hormone, an enhancer of these same key immune responses. The physiological effects of a single one-hour session viewing a humorous video has appeared to last up to 12 to 24 hours in some individuals,” Berk noted, “ while other studies of daily 30-minute exposure produces profound and long-lasting changes in these measures. 

This particular study showed that even the anticipation of watching a funny video had a significant healthful effect.

In the past I have enjoyed watching Funniest Home Videos TV show as a reliable means to achieve laughter, sometimes achieving a prolonged deep belly laugh.  I also  have a smiling response to remembering some scenes in Steve Martin’s movie, Three Amigos or in Ben Stiller’s movie, There’s Something About Mary .  Maybe one way to help achieve a greater release of growth hormone would be to get better at recalling funny scenes in movies or real life and then recall those scenes during the day or while falling asleep.

In the last week, I tried my rather weak version of Laughter Yoga which was basically making the sounds of laughter and trying to get to real laughter; it didn’t seem worth the effort to me.