Laughter is a sustainable way to lose weight and get happy and the only energy it costs is your own (or your friends that are making you laugh’s time and energy). But basically, laughing is good for you and low-impact on the environment.
Look at children and how their laughter explodes from their insides as they fall into uncontrollable hysterics that inevitably leads to streams of tears drenching their cheeks.
Laughter gives the body a “mini aerobic workout”, they believe.
It causes the heart to beat faster, sending larger amounts of blood around the body.
Laughing out loud also makes the chest rise and fall, which in turn means that stomach muscles have to work harder, which can help to tighten them.
The act of laughing can even help the skin, by using up to 15 facial muscles, helping to give the face a work out.
Laughing can also bolster the immune system, aiding the body to fight off infections like coughs and colds.
Dr Helen Pilcher, a neuroscientist who also works as a comedian, who carried out the research, said: “We’re not advocating you watch sitcoms 24 hours a day, but laughing away excess Christmas weight is a great way to stay in shape.
“But you’ve got to avoid the temptation of consuming extra calories whilst you are laughing – chomping on a Kit Kat or supping a quick half whilst watching your favourite sitcom.”
Her research, commissioned by UKTV Gold, found that an hour of strong laughter burns off around 100 calories, the equivalent of a small bag of crisps or small bar of chocolate.
The same amount of calories could be worked off through half an hour of weightlifting or by vacuuming for almost three quarters of an hour, the research found.
So why not laugh your way to a flat stomach and the happiness you deserve?
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