Laughing can Increase Memory Power in Elderly people: Study

Laughter therapy boosts memory power and mental health in seniors, according to a study.

Scientific researches in the past have cited numerous benefits of laughter like preventing high blood pressure, hypertension, stress, respiratory diseases and also increasing one's creative aptitude and longevity. Experts from the Loma Linda University in Southern California found that elderly people can overcome age induced short-term memory loss by indulging in laughter.

Their study involved 20 healthy seniors who were made to watch a 20-minute comedy video without having any disturbances and 20 other elderly people who were not shown any video clippings. Participants of both the groups underwent memory tests and researchers also examined their saliva samples to record the levels of stress hormone cortisol.

It was found the subjects who laughed for almost 20 minutes watching the funny video performed better in memory tests than those in the control group. The saliva tests of these participants also revealed significant reduction in the levels of cortisol and blood pressure compared to those who did not take part in the laughter session.  Higher cortisol levels are predictive of declining mental and intellectual capacities in older individuals.

In addition, the study explained laughing triggers a mechanism that hikes the production of feel-good hormone called endorphins, which in turn send dopamine to the brain inducing a sense of pleasure and reward. These reactions improve functioning of certain brain areas concerned with memory loss.

"Learning ability and delayed recall become more challenging as we age. Laughing with friends or even watching 20 minutes of humor on TV, as I do daily, helps me cope with my daily stressors," Gurinder S. Bains, study author and researcher from in Linda Loma University said, reports  ABC news.

The authors say that the more people are stressed the more they are likely to forget many things.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data says that about 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's -a common form of dementia or memory loss- and the disease risk doubles for people above 65. The method demonstrated in this research is simple, viable and cost effective to prevent mental health disorders in older citizens.

"Begin by laughing more daily. It will improve your quality of life, " says Bains.