Off Track
Laughter as a form of exercise
Is laughter a kind of exercise? That offbeat question is at the heart of a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B that showed that laughter is just not an emotional effect but also a good exercise. Researchers at Oxford University recruited a large group of undergraduate men and women to laugh and see the effect of laughing in our body. They said that most of us probably think of laughter, if we think of it at all, as a response to something funny â€" as, in effect, an emotion. But laughter is fundamentally a physical action. Laughter involves the repeated, forceful exhalation of breath from the lungs. The muscles of the diaphragm (a curtain that separates chest from belly and takes part in inhaling air) have to work very hard. Something similar may happen when people exercise together. We have all heard the phrase “laughter is the best medicineâ€. It is not just a response to something funny â€" as, in effect, an emotion, also a tool to stay healthy. If you prefer exercising alone, perhaps entertaining yourself with a good joke is a good option. So, laugh until it hurts.
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