 Laughter may be the best medicine, but even looking forward to having a good laugh can boost the immune system and reduce stress, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins and other pleasure and relaxation-inducing hormones and lower production of stress hormones, a team at the University of California Irvine said. This team tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape was funny. Half of them were told three days in advance they would watch it. Those who knew in advance they would see the video started experiencing biological changes right away. When the men watched the video, levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, fell 39 percent. Epinephrine fell 70 percent, while levels of the feel-good hormone endorphin rose 27 percent and growth hormone levels rose by 87 percent. "Growth hormone is very beneficial to the immune system," according to the team. This all suggests that anticipation of a funny event can lower stress and stimulate the immune system, Lee Berk，an assistant professor of family medicine and researcher in complementary and alternative medicine who led the study said. Berk and others had already shown that actually watching a funny video, or just laughing at a joke, could make healthful changes in the levels of hormones involved in stress and lower blood pressure. "You have been thinking about it all day, so you experience a change in biology even before you get there," Berk said. "That is therapeutic." Berk said the finding strengthens the advice that everyone lighten up a little to live longer. "Anticipation is half or two-thirds the fun," he said. (Agencies) | 笑也許是公認的最好的良藥，而美國研究者11月6號公布的研究結果更顯示：即便是有這種開懷大笑的愿望，也同樣能夠增進免疫功能，減少壓力。 據(jù)加州大學歐文分校的一個研究小組研究，僅僅是期待一件快樂、有趣的事件也能提高大腦內啡素（一種令人情緒愉快的物質）的產(chǎn)生，并減少壓力荷爾蒙的分泌。 研究小組共對16個試驗者進行了研究。首先找出一部他們共同認為很有趣的電影，并提前三天告知其中一半的人將觀賞該片。 研究表明，那些提前知道的人體內的化學物質隨即產(chǎn)生了生理變化。  而當這些人觀看該片時，他們體內的考的素（一種壓力荷爾蒙）含量下降到39%。腎上腺素下降了70%。而令人愉快的內啡素則上升了27%，生長激素則上升了87%。而生長激素正是對免疫系統(tǒng)有著極大促進作用的一種荷爾蒙。
主持這一研究的家庭醫(yī)學助理教授、輔助醫(yī)學和替代醫(yī)學領域研究者李·伯克說，這一切都表明對愉快事件的期待也能減輕壓力，促進免疫系統(tǒng)。 伯克和他的助手已經(jīng)證實，觀看一部有趣的電影，或者是聽到一則令人捧腹的笑話而開懷大笑都能促使體內有關壓力的荷爾蒙含量得到有效控制并降低血壓。 "由于你一整天都在期待著（那件有趣的事），你的身體就會在經(jīng)歷事件本身之前就發(fā)生生理變化。"伯克說，"這就是身體的良藥"。 伯克還說這一研究結果證實了生活積極的人壽命更長這一說法。他說："樂趣有三分之二來源于對樂趣的期待。" （中國日報網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2002-11-11 01:00
