It’s kind of tough to change your life when you can barely drag yourself out of bed. If you’re having trouble getting motivated, maybe what you really need is a good dose of Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, or John Candy. According to two new studies, the adage is true: Laughter is the best medicine. 

In one of the studies, reported by the American College of Sports Medicine, a group of healthy adults were asked to watch either a comedy film or a serious documentary. During the presentations, their carotid arteries—the main arteries in the neck that transport blood to the brain and face—were checked for activity. The people watching the comedy improved their arterial compliance, or the amount of blood moving through the arteries at a given time. And compliance remained improved for 24 hours after the movie ended. Decreased compliance is often linked to high blood pressure and heart disease.

In the second study, participants were monitored for vascular function and dilation or constriction of blood vessels. Constricted blood vessels can be a cause of high blood pressure. In those watching the comedy, blood vessels were more dilated, while for those watching the documentary, blood vessels were constricted by about 18 percent. As with the previous study, the positive benefits generated by watching the funny film lasted a full day.