01 HOUR TO MAKE YOUR HEART HEALTH GREAT AGAIN WITH SATIRE
Breaking news is breaking you. A pilot study led by Manchester Metropolitan University linked the mental angst that results from a 24-hour bad-news cycle – also known as “headline stress disorder” – to the inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease. However, happier research revealed that our instinctive reaction to Theresa May dancing during a time of national catastrophe – that is, laughter – is also your best defence.
The current political landscape is having a profound impact on your heart health. The stressors target the amygdala in your brain, which activates your bone marrow to make white blood cells. These infection-fighting cells trigger inflammation, a process that encourages the build-up of fatty plaque inside artery walls, which can eventually lead to heart disease. And it goes well beyond the 10 o’clock news, too. The British Journal of Psychology found that this impact on mood exacerbates the viewer’s personal worries, even when those worries are not directly relevant to the news.
The solution is a simple one: turn over. Professor Mark Whitmore of Kent State University found that humour – particularly in the form of hour-long political satire shows such as Have I Got News for You and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – is a positive defence strategy against alarming headlines. When you are made to laugh, especially about the subject that you fear, the associated palpitating stress is reduced: your amygdala stops firing, and your heart is let off the hook. Finally, something to smile about.