- A women with racing heart syndrome died after a giggling fit
- A quick intake of breath while laughing can cause an asthma attack
- Laughing too hard can cause incontinence and hernias
- Giggling can also cause weight loss, aid conception and lower blood sugar
By
Emma Innes
05:34 EST, 13 December 2013
|
08:00 EST, 13 December 2013
Laughter may not be the best medicine after all and could even harm us, new research has revealed.
Despite the known benefits of chuckling, for some people it has proven to be more dangerous than expected.
One woman with racing heart syndrome collapsed and died after a giggling fit, say researchers.
Despite the known benefits of chuckling, for some people it has proven to be more dangerous than you would think causing everything from epileptic fits to torn gullets
And laughing ‘fit to burst’ has been found to cause possible heart rupture, a torn gullet and epileptic seizures.
A quick intake of breath during laughing can provoke an asthma attack, while some people have suffered from incontinence and even hernias.
Researchers from Birmingham and Oxford Universities used data from 1946 to the present day to study the benefits of laughing on the human body.
During one test clowns were sent into hospitals to entertain patients.
And the results showed a dose of ‘genuine laughter’ for a whole day could help shed the pounds by burning 2,000 calories.
And 36 per cent of would-be mums undergoing IVF treatment got pregnant after a visit from the red-nosed jokers, compared to just 20 per cent in a control group.
Laughing hard can also cause asthma attacks, incontinence and hernias, the researchers found
Tittering was also linked with lowering blood sugar in diabetic patients and reducing arterial wall stiffness, which helps relieve tension.
The researchers say their findings challenge the view that laughter can only be beneficial but do add that humour in any form carries a ‘low risk of harm and may be beneficial’.
‘It remains to be seen whether sick jokes make you ill, dry wit causes dehydration or jokes in bad taste [cause] dysgeusia (distortion of sense of taste),’ they said.
The paper was published in the Christmas edition of The British Medical Journal.
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Comments (81)
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Spencer I. Mather,
Bradwell-Great Yarmouth,
7 minutes ago
I told an American friend of mine about how someone died of a telescoped intestine, he wouldn’t believe me, and laughed so much the same happened to him, luckily he survived and is still around to-day..!!!
DeafMute,
Pasadena, United Kingdom,
16 minutes ago
After reading this article in full, I am determined not to laugh, giggle, or so much as smile. Thank you DM, you’ve made me absolutely miserable.
larmerboy,
York,
18 minutes ago
ahahahahaha HAHAHA ooooo heheeheheeehe ahahahhahaha. The article is laughable, what is one to do?!
Andrew Relton,
Norwich,
18 minutes ago
does it cause house prices to fall as well ?
Syd,
Liverpool, United Kingdom,
22 minutes ago
I’m dying to laugh!
should know better,
All, United Kingdom,
30 minutes ago
Recent research has concluded that some researchers need investigating themselves.
Hadenough,
South Coast., United Kingdom,
47 minutes ago
Well there is nothing to laugh about in this country so it should be pretty safe for me with these ailments.
Lindylou,
Manchester, United Kingdom,
49 minutes ago
My sister collapsed and later died after laughing uncontrollably. She had a brain hemorrhage, at nine years old.
I was seven. We were all laughing at “This is your life†believe it or not. The “subject†kept running off the stage. I wish I could remember who it was. It was broadcast in May 1958 and Eamonn Andrews was the host.
Pattherat..,
Tinseltown..,
50 minutes ago
What next? Going to the toilet risks skin cancer? And I don’t mean in an outhouse..
George,
Durham, United Kingdom,
50 minutes ago
My sister once laughed so hard she injured her jaw and had to go to AE. True story.
Grasshopper Farmer,
Sandburrville,
48 minutes ago
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