Hearty laugh

Muscle & Fitness, July, 2006 by Dwayne Jackson

Ask a doctor what you should do to improve your cardiac health, and more often than not, he or she will say, "Do more cardiovascular exercise." We don't know about you, but that presents us with a dilemma. As far as we're concerned, adding even a little extra cardio to our regimens is asking a lot; then again, we wouldn't say no to maximizing our ticker's performance, either. That's why we'd much rather ask scientists from the University of Maryland (College Park), who concluded that you can Improve your heart health by--get this--sitting on your butt and watching funny DVDs.

In a recent issue of the journal Heart, researchers reported that laughing at a comedic movie had a positive effect on blood vessels, allowing them to dilate (widen) and contract (narrow) more readily. (Blood vessels that have trouble dilating and contracting easily are associated with cardiovascular disease.) The findings came from a study in which scientists showed 20 healthy men and women clips from two movies, the comedy Kingpin (1996) and the drama Saving Private Ryan (1998). Researchers measured subjects' blood vessels both before and after watching the films and discovered that the vessels relaxed during the comedy and tightened during the drama.

The results of the comedy viewing were significant enough that the team compared them to the effects found in blood vessels after aerobic exercise. But because they're still doctors, the scientists were quick to point out that you should still do your cardio--just boost it by aiming for at least 15 minutes of laughter a day. To do that, try watching some of the comedies in "M&F's Fave Comedies."

REFERENCES

Miller, M., et al. Impact of cinematic viewing on endothelial function. Heart 92(2):261-262, 2006.

RELATED ARTICLE: M&F'S FAVE COMEDIES

An informal survey of the M&F staff revealed the following movies as our favorites for getting our heart rates up and our arteries relaxed.

Airplane! (1980)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) ^

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Caddyshack (1980)

Dumb & Dumber (1994)

Eddie Murphy Raw (1987)

Monty Python and the Holy Grall (1975)

Office Space (1999)

Old School (2003)

The Princess Bride (1987)

Spaceballs (1987)

There's Something About Mary (1998)

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

Tommy Boy (1995)

BY DWAYNE JACKSON, PHD

M&F Senior Science Editor JIM STOPPANI, PHD