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Benefits of laughter research
Benefits of laughter research
Essays about the positive effects of laughter on emotional and physical health
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Humor is used in treating mental health issues along with physical health issues. Psychologists believe that humor can create positive effects on the brain. When we laugh we use muscles in our bodies that relax us, which can help to create a positive effect on the brain. Psychologists have done studies to show different kinds of effects that humor has on people with mental illnesses and physical problems. Psychologist have gathered groups of people and given a treatment to one and a non-treatment to the other, to see if there are different kinds of effects that humor has. People with a good sense of humor, tend to have less health problems, they also tend to be less stressed, anxious and depressed. Humor can benefit people, with laughter …show more content…
Such as if you are laughing from a TV show it causes you to restrict your muscles and to create positive emotions in the brain. Laughter is healthy, it’s a way to create separation between one’s self and our problems. In an article called, “Health Care Savvy: Heart Benefits of Hearty Laugh,” by Health.org, explains that there are several benefits of laughter such as: Increase blood flow, lower blood sugar, regulate the immune system, burn calories and ease pain. The increase in blood flow, after watching something comical the arteries to the heart expanded causing an increase in blood flow to the body, this action can also lower the blood pressure. This can seriously help people with diabetes; it can help them maintain a better blood sugar control. In regulating the immune system, “a good laugh might also stimulate production of the disease-fighting T cells and natural killer cells” (Gorman 35). Also, laughter can cause us to burn calories, in the way our muscles are used while laughing, and it can ease the pain by relaxing our muscles. Humor and laughter are said to benefits to our immunity, pain tolerance, blood pressure, longevity, and illness symptoms. Laugher relaxes and exercises your muscles and causes you to go into a state of relaxation. Laughter can also, “increase the production of pain-killing endorphins, decreases the production of stress-related hormones, and enhances immunity”
When there is humor involved people seem to enjoy things way better, the reason for this is that people will
“The practical disengagement of humor…helps explain the opposition between amusement and negative emotions.” (530) There are three effects of humor; irresponsibility, blocking compassion, and promoting prejudice. Humor can take away what we are/should be doing in life and sometimes there isn’t anything wrong with that. Sometimes when we hear a hateful thing we just laugh it off as if it was no big deal when it really was. “An
This book is about so many things, it is hard to stay on one topic for any length of time. In order to focus on the laugh and laughing as a healing agent, I would like to look towards other influential writers and thinkers to tie together laughing and healing. First, let’s see what laughter is according to Meriam Webster: laughter- n. a cause of merriment. Using this simple definition, we can assume that laughter can come from any form of merriment or emotion like triumph, contempt, relief, and almost any other emotion there is. It is easy to picture in your head different underlying emotions in laughter; the sinister laughs of witches and ghosts, the insincere, fake laughs you hear after pointless, humorless attempts at jokes on the six o’clock news, to the silent laughs of mimes and clowns that fill the people around them with a happy feeling. These are all examples of what laughter is and how it is used. But why do we do it? What in nature created the laugh and made it so successful?
Various populations can benefit from the therapeutic use of humor, often it is used with either the exceptionally young or old populations, but the benefits of humor extend beyond age and gender limits. Commonly, it’s implemented in young populations with severe to mild physical or mental disabilities or with those experiencing serious and terminal illness (Saper, 1990). Humor is used as a method of coping with or coming to terms with life changing illnesses for both old an...
Although modern science has allowed us to develop many complex medicines, laughter is still the strongest one available in the real world and in the book. Laughter proves to be a strong medicine in more ways than one and is completely free, allowing anyone to use it at anytime. It allows us to connect socially with people, it can be used as a way of overthrowing power, and it is good for your health. As Randle McMurphy showed in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, laughter can lighten the mood in the darkest situations.
It allows elders to maintain their social ties within the community and maintain the all important sense of self that many elders lose after retirement. The following examples from the case studies of Eddie, Bill and Alice show how the use of humor allows them to give them a sense of social identity within the community and maintain social participation that is essential for a succesful aging process. Loe writes
The spectrum of therapeutic techniques available within the health care continuum is very complex and varied. From traditional medicine, to holistic remedies, and anything in between, nurses have a rather large arsenal at their disposal when it comes to treating the patients that are under their care. Humor as an alternative therapy has long been understood as a proven means to aid in the recovery process. “With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health” (Smith & Segal, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to discuss situations in which humor would be a viable alternative therapy
Laughing is resorted to in times where we need to laugh. It’s an escape from reality, its comfort, its fear. Laughing subdues any emotion that is too high strung in our system. It lets it vapor out in a melancholy form that helps us cope with problems that no one else can really understand and help us with. In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest it allowed emotional tension escape from the patients and made nurse Ratched lose her ward.
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists study humor because it is a fundamental culture value, but they still can’t determine why certain things make some people laugh and others not. There are “humor quotient” tests that are designed to measure an individual’s sense of humor, but these tests are questionable. These tests aren’t accurate because almost all humor depends on cultural background knowledge and language skills. Not every person in the whole world, or even in one country share the same background knowledge and skills, therefore they cannot have the same type of humor. “The fact remains that individuals vary in their appreciation of humor” (Rappoport 9). Since humor varies from individual to individual, humor lies in the individual. How successful or funny a joke is depends on how the person receives the joke, humor cannot be measured by a statistical
Yoshino S., Fujimori J., Kohda M.. Effects of mirthful laughter on neuroendocrine and immune systems in patients with rheumatoid arthritis [letter]. J Rheumatol 23: 793-4 (1996).
There is an upheaval in the rise Mind-related diseases like nervous breakdowns anxiety, sleeplessness and depression. Laughter had a positive effect on many people who were on heavy anti-depressant pills and tranquillizers. Now they are getting better quality of sleep and decrease in the depressive symptoms.
Feeling down and depressed? Laugh all those troubles away. Laughter is a simple yet substantial way of putting that little spring back in the step. When people say “Laughter is the best medicine,” what are they referring to? Laughing acts as calorie burner, prevents heart disease or other illnesses, can increase learning abilities and focus, or even bring a more optimistic outlook on life.
Those who use humor to its best advantage teach others by example. Instead of getting angry when something goes wrong, we should try to look for the humor in the situation. It eases tensions and keeps things in perspective. Humor can energize us when a task has become tedious. Humor can make even the worst of situations tolerable.
stress and can be good for your health. Doctors say that laughing is good for
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and