Learning English

Is laughing good for your heart?

Laughter can make your heart stronger, according to new research. An investigation has shown that laughter therapy can reduce the risk of heart disease. 

Watch the video and complete the activity

NEWS REVIEW PODCAST NOW AVAILABLE - SUBSCRIBE HERE

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you like that? Why not try these?

• Antarctic ice melting
• Shift work linked to depression
• Green flights? Impossible

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Images: Getty)

The story  

Laughter can make your heart stronger, or so new research suggests.

The study revealed being shown TV comedies increased the amount of oxygen that could be pumped round heart patients' bodies.

This Brazilian investigation also suggests that laughter therapy could reduce inflammation in blood vessels.

Key words and phrases

having a laugh
enjoying yourself or making a joke

• Come out tonight! We'll have a laugh!
• Are you serious or just having a laugh?

literally
using the real meaning of a word

• We received literally thousands of applications.
• Excitement is building as we are literally seconds away from kick-off.

first-of-its-kind
different to anything before

• This is the world's oldest car – it's the first of its kind.
• The film was the first of its kind. No-one had made one like that before.

To do

Try our quiz to test yourself on today's language.

Downloads

You can download the audio and PDF document for this episode.

More

We hope you enjoyed News Review. You can find more episodes here.