Effects of Laughing and Weeping on Mood and Heart Rate Variability.

Abstract

We investigated the effects of laughing and weeping induced by watching comedy and tragedy videos on mood and autonomic nervous function. Ten healthy female subjects volunteered for the experiment. Chest electrocardiogram and respiration curve were recorded before, after, and during watching a comedy or a tragedy video. We also asked them to fill out profiles of mood states (POMS) to evaluate their mood states while watching videos. Autonomic nervous function was estimated by spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). All subjects more or less laughed and wept while watching comedy and tragedy videos, respectively. Anger-hostility score of the POMS decreased and vigor score increased significantly after watching comedy videos, while depression-dejection score increased significantly after watching tragedy ones. Although both contents tended to increase a low to high frequency component ratio (LF/HF ratio) of HRV, the time course of responses was different. The LF/HF ratio which reflects cardiac sympathovagal balance increased immediately after they started watching comedy videos, and returned to the basal level right after they stopped watching, whereas the LF/HF ratio increased gradually to a lesser extent while watching tragedy videos. In contrast, the high-frequency component which reflects cardiac parasympathetic nerve activity gradually decreased while watching both videos but did not return to the basal level after watching tragedy ones. These results suggest that laughing has strong but transient effects on the autonomic nervous system, while weeping or feeling sad has moderate but sustained effects on it.

Energy expenditure of genuine laughter

“…19 Moderate or strong exercise activates sympathetic activity with simultaneous withdrawal of parasympathetic nerve activity. 20,21 It has been shown that laughter has strong but transient effects on the autonomic nervous system 22 and may contribute to cardioprotection in some personality traits. 10 In some studies, laughter affected hormonal response, mostly as an effect of increased level of circulating catecholamines.…”

Using Wearable Devices for Non-invasive, Inexpensive Physiological Data Collection

“…Interestingly, power spectrum analysis has revealed that certain emotions (e.g., anger, appreciation) can be differentiated by comparing different parts of the power spectrum captured while experiencing those emotions [27]. A similar approach has also been used to understand heart rate changes over an extended period of time-50 minutes-while participants watched comedies or tragedies [37].…”

Determining heart rate variation: a comparison between direct results from V6 of the ECG and time domain, frequency domain and non-liniar analysis

“…'n Toename in die LF/HF-verhouding en 'n verlaging in die som van die totale drywing in die LF-en HF-gebiede word geassosieer met verlaagde HTV. 5,11 'n Drywingspektrumanalise van normale HTV en verlaagde HTV is uitgebeeld in figuur 1A …”

“…Korrekte interpretasie van harttempovariasiedata open nie net 'n venster op die komplekse dinamiek van outonome harttemporegulering tydens die handhawing van homeostase nie, maar verleen ook insig in die oorhoofse funksionering van die outonome senuweestelsel. 5,6 Dit is algemeen bekend dat outonome kardiovaskulêre beheer 'n bepalende rol speel in fatale kardiale insidente. Verlaagde HTV is 'n bekende indikator van abnormale outonome beheer van die hart met gepaardgaande verhoogde risiko vir spontane ventrikulêre aritmias wat 'n teken is van elektriese onstabiliteit van die miokardium.…”