A new study has added to the list of benefits associated with laughter and has proved the old adage that laughter is the best medicine.

The findings of the last study have established laughter as a vital agent in lifting mood, encouraging stress-free living, increasing the immunity against diseases, relieving from hypertension and reducing cholesterol levels.

A session of exercising and a joyous laughter have a similar effect on the body and Dr. Lee Berk from California, who headed the research team, feels that the connection between the two is strange but true.

For the study, 14 healthy people were asked to watch two twenty minute videos. While, one was a distressful video taken from the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’, the other video included standup comedy.

The study participants watched both the videos in a gap of one week and after that the scientists carried out some routine checks for them.

On analysis, they found that the comedy video had an effect on the hormones of the volunteers, while the distressful video showed no change in hormone levels.

The leptin hormone levels decreased and gherlin levels increased in people after watching the comedy act.

Dr. Berk states, “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”.