Dear Laura,

I read that laughing can be a good cardio workout. Can I lose weight just by laughing a lot?

Signed,

Kathleen R., Ridgewood, N.J.

Dear Kathleen,

Laughing is good for your body in many ways. As a matter of fact, I devoted an entire chapter in my recently published book to the subject and named the chapter "Laugh it Off!" People who know me realize that smiling and laughing are behaviors I have integrated into my daily life, and for good reason. Laughing can do wonders for the body, mind and soul! Can you lose weight just by laughing? Read on for some rather enlightening laughter benefits!

• Laughing one hundred times during a 24-hour period has the same cardiovascular benefit as rowing a rowing machine for 10 minutes! At least that's what laughter researcher and psychiatrist William Fry found to be true. Laughing causes your blood pressure and heart rate to increase. Then, later to drop lower, resulting in a relaxation response.
  
  
• Berk, Tan & Fry published the results of a study that measured cortisol, dopamine, growth hormones and other neurohormones on subjects who viewed a 60-minute humorous video. Cortisol, known as the "stress hormone," significantly decreased post-video viewing. Why is this important relative to weight loss? Elevated levels of cortisol as a result of high stress (read: not much laughing!) can lead to more calories being stored as fat in the body, specifically around the mid-section. A body in stress "thinks" it needs to store more calories for survival! Laugh more -- stress hormones will decrease and your body will be less likely to store calories from food you eat to fat!
  
  
• Laughing can naturally elevate the feel good neurohormone dopamine in the brain, which in turn could cause you to eat less! Leonard Epstein, PhD, found that people who genetically have lower dopamine levels, will eat more than those who are more "dopamine blessed"! So, laughing can, in theory, decrease your appetite! Do your own study!
  
  
• Maciej Buchowski, Ph.D. director of Bionutrition at Vanderbilt Medical Center, announced the results of a study in 2005 that laughing does indeed burn calories. He found that laughing 10 to 15 minutes per day can help you lose up to four pounds a year. Read more here.
  
  
• Here's a little "Did you know" fact. I love this one. When a mother sees her baby smile, her brain reacts with elevated levels of dopamine! Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine showed first time mothers while in a MRI machine photos of their babies smiling, ages ranging from five to 10 months. Areas of their brain associated with reward "lit up!" A smile alone can be very powerful even at the receiving end!
  
  
• There are numerous other health benefits as a result of laughter sessions. Laughter can boost the immune system, decrease pain perception and more. There are those who believe, myself included, that laughter can improve many areas of your life.
  
  

Kathleen, I do believe if you laugh every day, you will be happier, healthier and weigh less than if you didn't laugh at all!! Commit to laughing daily, not at the expense of others of course, and you'll see what I mean. I have no doubt about that!

Smilingly Yours,

Laura Lewis, Life Fit Expert and voted "Best Smile" at her high school! ;-)

"The most wasted of days are those without laughter!" e.e. Cummings