Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s relentless efforts toward bringing about healthy change and development in society are ever-so-inspiring aspects for anyone in this world. The bodybuilding legend bid adieu to his favorite sports a long time ago, but he is as dedicated as ever to helping others maintain a good, healthy lifestyle. In doing so, the Terminator star has shared an interesting anecdote about the benefits of laughter. He used the example of a Norwegian study specifically to make his point.

In his recent newsletter, ‘Arnold’s Pump Club’, Schwarzenegger covers 3 different topics. They include “Member of the Week”, where the bodybuilder presents the story of Matt Wolf, who beat cancer after following Schwarzenegger’s advice. The other ones include “Book of the Week” and a section titled “LOL”. The latter section is where the trivia about the correlation between laughter and mortality was mentioned. Turns out, women have a greater life expectancy, all thanks to their sense of humor.

Schwarzenegger explores the myriad ways laughing can help

“LOL” generally stands for ‘Laugh out Loud’. It is a generic expression to denote hilarious circumstances. In here, Schwarzenegger makes a rather serious point about the benefits of laughter. He cites a 15-year-old study that involved 53,000 Norwegian women and men to make this point. As always, he made the point with scientific backup.

Schwarzenegger said, “Women who laughed more often were associated with a 48 percent decrease in death from all causes, 73 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, and 83 percent lower risk of infection”. It was a scientifically backed, tested-out theory of the common old saying, ‘Laughter is the best medicine’.

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Schwarzenegger also cited the results for men, but the numbers weren’t as impressive as women’s. Nevertheless, it was an impressive number to have a 74% reduced risk of death from infection.

A learning curve for everyone from happy women

Such a difference between men and women might also call for a further study of the effects of laughter on both genders. Schwarzenegger states about it, “Why the gender differences? Scientists aren’t sure, but one potential reason is that — on average — men had lower humor scores as they aged compared to women”.

It is a strange but interesting phenomenon how women tend to maintain their sense of humor with age as compared to men. While there have been no definitive reasons for that, it still serves as an admirable trait. One that people can learn from.

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Schwarzenegger, who has previously also debunked a misconception about cancer, has now sincerely shared the wonders of laughing. He also wrote, “It’s no joke that a good sense of humor could be a life-changing trait”. And let that quote serve as an example for everyone that laughter isn’t merely a way of having fun. But its importance runs far deeper into everyone’s well-being.