Funny thing about movie comedies - they may actually do your heart good.
That's the finding of researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center who found that funny films increased the flow of blood to the heart.
The study involved 20 healthy adults with an average age of 33. They were asked to watch 15 to 30 minute segments of sad and humorous movies a minimum of 48 hours apart.
To help ensure that other factors did not influence the findings, they were also told to avoid alcohol, vitamins or herbal remedies and to abstain from aerobic exercise the evening before the experiment.
They were then exposed to various film clips aimed at eliciting different emotions.
Sad films ran along the lines of the war drama Saving Private Ryan, while funny movies included the comedy There's Something About Mary.
During the experiment, researchers took measurements of blood flow in the brachial artery, the blood vessel that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. The tests were carrie out before participants laughed or showed signs of sadness and then again one minute after.
A total of 160 measurements were taken during the experiment.
When sad or dramatic clips were shown, the brachial artery blood flow was reduced in 14 of 20 participants.
When funny bits came on, however, the blood flow increased in all but one of the participants.
"The difference in flow between sad and happy responses exceeded 50 per cent," the study said.
The impact of a sad film on blood flow, researchers found, was about the same as remembering episodes of anger or doing mental arithmetic.
The increased blood flow from funny films was similar to that seen from a bout of aerobic exercise.
Terry Weber