A small study just presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta suggest that while maybe not the best medicine, laughter and song can be effective therapies[i]. A Japanese study looked at 79 adults and divided them into three groups. One got no additional intervention, one got music sessions and one got laughter sessions. Both the music and laughter groups saw an over 5mmHg reduction in blood pressure, while none was seen in the group with no intervention. That is within the range of other therapies like medication, weight loss and reducing salt intake. Cortisol levels, a marker of stress, were also reduced after the respective therapies. Grab your iPod (or pad), crank some tunes and laugh along with Charlie. It’s all good medicine. The best medicine, you can argue about that but at least do it
[i] (Eguchi & Ciccone, 2011)
What's Cookin' with Dr. Mike: The Grassroots Gourmet 