An interesting study on the benefits of Laughter Yoga for those living with Parkinsons disease.
Among other activities which affect the quality of sleep in patients withParkinson’s disease is respiratory disorder. One of the benefits of laughter yogais, thus, improvement of the respiratory system. Laughter provides exercise tothe lungs and chest muscles, resulting in improved vital capacity and breathing.In normal breathing when person is relaxed, there is a balance betweeninhalation and exhalation. In the stress and disease states, not only doesbreathing become more shallow and slower but the level of oxygen becomeslowered too. There is a great amount of air that remains in the lungs. By keepingthe air in the lungs, oxygen content decreases and water vapor and carbondioxide levels increase. In this case, the more favorable conditions for bacterialgrowth and lung infections are created.Laughter increases ventilation and removes mucous plugs to help maintain airexchange which increases oxygen levels in the blood. In fact, when we laugh theair is completely expelled from the lungs and following that, carbon dioxide andwater vapor is also emitted and replaced with oxygen. The oxygen becomesavailable to blood cells. The effects of laughter can benefit middle-aged peoplewith chronic respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, and reduce the risk ofinfection and inflammation of the lungs(Keykhai Hosseinpour, 2013)Therefore, laughter yoga can affect quality of sleep by improving the respiratory system.Therefore, according to the benefits of laughter yoga, which include pain relief,muscle relaxation, reduced anxiety and depression, and improved respiratorysystem function, it can be concluded that laughter yoga does significantlyimprove sleep quality- either directly and indirectly- of patients with Parkinson’sdisease. The questionnaire (on sleep quality) by Peter Bourg evaluated 7 areas:sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency rate, sleepdisturbances, use of sleeping pills, and daily functioning disorders
A PDF of the full article can be found.
here http://www.bmrat.org/index.php/BMRAT/article/view/200/529
and an abstract of the article can be found here
http://www.bmrat.org/index.php/BMRAT/article/view/200
The results of the present study demonstrate that laughter yoga exercises can reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality in patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. As a result, laughter yoga exercises may be beneficial as a complementary therapy with standard treatment methods to reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality in patients with Parkinson’s.
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