In contrast to the well-established scientific evidence linking negative emotional
states (e.g., depression, anxiety, or anger) to increased risk for cardiovascular
disease, much less is known about the association between positive emotional states
(e.g., laughter, happiness) and cardiovascular health. We determined the effects of
mirthful laughter, elicited by watching comic movies, on endothelial function and
central artery compliance. Seventeen apparently healthy adults (23 to 42 years of
age) watched 30 minutes of a comedy or a documentary (control) on separate days (crossover
design). Heart rate and blood pressure increased significantly while watching the
comedy, whereas no such changes were seen while watching the documentary. Ischemia-induced
brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation (by B-mode ultrasound imaging) increased
significantly after watching the comedy (17%) and decreased with watching the documentary
(−15%). Carotid arterial compliance (by simultaneous application of ultrasound imaging
and applanation tonometry) increased (10%) significantly immediately after watching
the comedy and returned to baseline 24 hours after the watching, whereas it did not
change significantly throughout the documentary condition. Comedy-induced changes
in arterial compliance were significantly associated with baseline flow-mediated dilation
(r = 0.63). These results suggest that mirthful laughter elicited by comic movies
induces beneficial impact on vascular function.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 11,
2010
Received in revised form:
May 11,
2010
Received:
April 1,
2010
Footnotes
This work was supported by Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research Abroad, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
