Laughter therapy

According a recent report, just the anticipation of the mirthful laughter involved in watching your favorite funny movie has some very surprising and significant neuroendocrine/hormone effects. In this research, the blood drawn from experimental subjects just before they watched the video had 27% more beta-endorphins and 87% more human growth hormone, compared to blood from the control group, which didn't anticipate the watching of a humorous video.

Researcher say "mirthful laughter diminishes the secretion of cortisol and epinephrine, while enhancing immune reactivity.... The physiological effects of a single one-hour session viewing a humorous video has appeared to last up to 12 to 24 hours in some individuals, while other studies of daily 30-minute exposure produces profound and long-lasting changes in these measures".