They call it "laughercise." Researchers at Loma Linda University’s Schools of Allied Health (SAHP) and Medicine say the body responds to laughter like it responds to moderate exercise and that laughter can enhance mood, decrease stress hormones, enhance immune activity, lower bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raises good cholesterol (HDL).

Their most recent study looked at the effects of humor and distress on appetite hormones. Subjects were recruited to a three-week study to examine the effects that laughter and distress have on modulating the key hormones that control appetite. During the study, each subject was required to watch one 20-minute video at random that was either upsetting or humorous in nature.

They found that subjects who watched the humorous videos had changes in blood pressure and also changes in two hormones known to affect appetite – leptin and ghrelin. The changes were similar to the acute effect of moderate physical exercise that is often associated with increased appetite.

"The value of the research is that it may provide for those who are healthcare providers with new insights and understandings, and thus further potential options for patients who cannot use physical activity to normalize or enhance their appetite," said lead researcher Lee Berk, M.D.