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Crying With Laughter Can Burn 120 Calories An Hour, Study Suggests

Crying With Laughter Can Burn 120 Calories An Hour, Study Suggests

Study shows a good giggle can burn more calories than doing sit-ups

Tiffany Lo

Tiffany Lo

If you are tired of going in and out of the gym for a workout, having a good laugh could be the alternative.

In fact, giggling can be better to tone your 'internal obliques' than stomach crunches, recent reports show.

Laughing until you cry can easily burn up to 120 calories in an hour, as well as toning your ab muscles and improving cardiovascular health. Belly laughing for an hour could burn as many calories as a brisk walk (120 calories), according to scientists.

Recent study shows laughing is an effective method in burning calories
Recent study shows laughing is an effective method in burning calories

Or you can just watch television - TV Channel Dave commissioned Dr Helen Pilcher and Timandra Harkness from the Comedy Research Project to compile a report on the effects of humour on weight loss.

They predicted the hourly calorie loss that could be achieved from watching a number of comedy shows.

Taskmaster was crowned as the most calorie-burning show as the researchers revealed a result of burning 42.9 calories in an hour.

Room 101 came second with 40.3 calories burned in an hour, followed by QIXL , Mock the Week and Not Going Out.

"This report raises the joyous possibility that watching comedy shows can help you to shape your six pack by targeting internal oblique muscles more effectively than sit-ups," said Dr Pilcher.

A bellyful of laugh can burn up to 120 calories in an hour
A bellyful of laugh can burn up to 120 calories in an hour

Laughing engages the core muscles and is more effective than doing sit-ups
Laughing engages the core muscles and is more effective than doing sit-ups

But if you want a more intense workout, then belly laughing with your mates for hour might be your answer.

A study in the International Journal of Obesity suggested that a big belly laugh can use about the same energy as walking more than half a mile.

It explained that laughter makes the heart beat faster and works lots of different muscles.

Dr Shevach Friedler at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre in Zerifin even found humour increased the chance that fertility treatment would be a success in patients seeking IVF.

He told BBC: "Laughter has a physiological effect as well as a psychological one.

"It is an intuitive human trait. We do not learn it. It's in our genes.

Laughter is proven to boost your immune system, decrease pain, protect your heart from disease and relax your muscles.

Time to put on a comedy and get fit!

Featured Image Credit: Unsplash

Topics: Life News, Fitness, Health