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Essay on Health benefits of humor and laughter
Essay on Health benefits of humor and laughter
Essays about the positive effects of laughter on emotional and physical health
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Is laughter health-promoting? Do cross-generations have different views on which types of laughter are more health beneficial than others? Is laughter done behind a hand equal to laughter done with the head thrown back and the mouth wide open? Is loud better than soft, “laughing with” better than “laughing at,” mirthful laughter better than bitter or ironic laughter? People do expect laughter to provide relief from pain and discomfort, but does the type of laughter matter in which one is more beneficial than the next? Laughter has shown physiological, psychological, social, spiritual, and quality-of-life benefits. Diana L. Mahony, W. Jeffrey Burroughs, and Louis G. Lippman teamed up to research the popular belief that laughter benefits health …show more content…
Laughter is associated with positive affects and social appropriateness and is correlated most strongly with the perception of a contribution to health made by a laughter type. The data received from the surveys revealed an interesting pattern, according to the researchers. The results suggest that young adults, relative to the older participants, saw high-volume, less controlled laughter as more healthful. The older, but not younger, participants indicated that social appropriateness is an important attribute of health promoting laughter. Both groups indicated that positive emotion was an important attribute. In sum, the laughter types perceived as most beneficial by the older group can be described as gentler, kinder, and less active; preferences of the young adults are greater volume and movement. There have been many changes in the social norms governing types of humor and responses to humor that are acceptable. (The Journal of Psychology, Mahony, Burroughs, & Lippman pg. 179) Mora-Ripholl hypothesized that it is necessary to discriminate between variables of laughter, as many analyses of humor have used a humor stimulus, for example a comic movie, to determine the effect of "humor" on a health-related outcome, and others look categorically at the effects of laughter on these conclusions. Still others explore different ways to test sense of humor in an attack to analyze whether scoring higher on a sense-of-humor scale is associated with certain health outcomes. (Mora-Ripoll pg.
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.
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?
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
According to Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, “Humor has always played an important role in argument…” (38). Humor itself is something that activates amusement or laughter. Moreover, in popular culture satire is a tool that is used to point out things in our society. Satire opens the minds of people to philosophies they might completely deny, using humor. There are many elements of satire that identify flaws within our society. A couple of satire elements that will be discussed are irony and exaggeration. In addition, a parody is used in popular culture as a way to mock or mimic situation or person.
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...
At the latest press conference held by Apple, the new groundbreaking innovation for the iPhone 6 was finally revealed to the public. After years of mingling about in the barbarian state of face-to-face conversation, society is finally being introduced with the ability to eliminate the middle-man, and communicate solely through the use of their smart phone. The feature is called Siri-Speech, which helps envelop the user in the dissociation that is accompanied by using machines to fill the void once occupied by primitive speech. The user only needs to type a text they would like the individuals near them to hear, and the application will read the text aloud. This awe-inspiring feature will help eliminate the need for crude functions like conversation and eye contact.
The films The Searchers and Avatar both make use of the master narratives of regulating social order and disorder. One is used as a way to reinforce this narrative, while the latter is shaped more towards critiquing the overall of ideal of the American social order. The struggle presented by an external threats in both films give the opportunity of interpreting and contrasting the master narrative and the effects that can come from imbalances in social orders.
“I'm a romantic; a sentimental person thinks things will last, a romantic person hopes against hope that they won't.” F. Scott Fitzgerald said this and it is very apparent that he feels this way in The Great Gatsby. In this novel filled with the experiences of a group of supercilious, rich, white people, Fitzgerald shows this with the many symbols he uses throughout the novel. Among the most arresting are the Green Light at the end of the Buchanan’s dock, which Gatsby envies for, the color white, which deceives readers with Daisy’s deceitful beauty, and the Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, which sees all wrong done by the characters.
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
SATIRE ESSAY Good evening and welcome to another edition of the BBC satire documentary series. Today we will be analyzing the battleground of satirical poetry, examining two well-known satirical poems called 'Life-Cycle' by Bruce Dawe and 'Hymn Of The Scientific Farmer' by Clive Sansom. But first, lets look at what a satire is and how the victorious poet annihilates the foe of a satire. According to the ancient Macquarie Dictionary, a satire is a 'term applied to any work of literature or art whose objective is to ridicule.'
Humor has shown to be powerful for increasing resilience in dealing with unhappiness and also negative outcome. Humor can help as a strong distancing mechanism in coping with distress. Humor has been shown to improve the aging process in three areas. They are improving physical health, improving social communications, and helping to achieve a sense of pride in life. Studies have shown that constant humor in the aging process gives health benefits to individuals.Humor has shown to be powerful for increasing resilience in dealing with unhappiness and also negative outcome. Humor can help as a strong distancing mechanism in coping with distress. Humor has been shown to improve the aging process in three areas. They are improving physical health,
Clearly, laughter is very beneficial to an individual’s health. People who have the habit of laughing and maintaining a positive attitude throughout the day will have an easy time fighting off diseases. Actually, laughter triggers the secretion of endorphins, which are the body’s painkillers.
One of the many benefits gained by laughter are the physical benefits. “I believe laughing is the best calorie burner” (Hepburn). The average person, in fact, laughs 13 to 15 times day. A few minutes of laughing will help burn a handful of calories, according to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2005. This center released proven research that laughing between 10 and 15 minutes a day can help burn between 10 and 40 extra calories. The calorie burning takes place because of increased heart rate when laughing. Even one good belly laugh burns off roughly 3.5 calories. Meanwhile your mind might drift to the calories burning when being doubled over crying while watching a comedy on TV, don't forget the other health benefits of laughing. Believe it or not, 15 minutes of laughter have the same benefits as getting two hours sleep. It helps release fear, exercises the diaphragm, relieve anxiety and stress, and lowers the
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