MICDS
LAUGHTER MEDICINE
IS
THE
BEST
11/24/09
Volume 1, Issue 1
(6)
BENEFITS
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: How Laughter is Beneficial to Overall Health Why we Laugh Differences In People and What they Find Funny Interesting and Surprising Facts About Laughing and Humor
INSIDE ISSUE:
THIS
Benefits of Laughter
1
Why Do We Laugh?
2
What Do We Find
3
Adults vs. Kids
4
Physiology of Laugh-
5
Fun Facts of Laugh-
6
ter
OF
LAUGHTER
Many people do not realize it, but laughter can be very beneficial to all aspects of someone’s health. Therefore, it is essential to have a good sense of humor these days, with all of the stress over the economy. Laughing has many effects on the mental health of someone. For example, it relieves stress and improves the mood of someone. This is one of the main reasons of why people who are studying for an upcoming exam are better off laughing, so that some of their building stress can be relieved. It is easier to take an exam while one is well-relaxed, because focusing on the task at hand becomes essential in succeeding.
WHY
DO
WE
Another thing that laughing can help with mentally is that it allows you to relax and recharge, getting ready for the next day.(6) Laughing also plays a major role in physical health. It boosts the immunity, which helps keep one healthy and without sickness or illness. (6) A good sense of humor can also temporarily decrease pain that one has, and it relaxes muscles. (6) Laughing before a big game can help, because muscles tend to get tense before something important, and laughing would aid in the relaxing of these muscles. Perhaps the most important thing that laughing can bring to physical health is the pre-
vention of heart disease. (6) Heart disease is a leading cause of death in America, and so it is important to take all steps possible to protect your heart. There have been cases where nurses have been talked to who believe that the patient who they were caring for only survived because of a good sense of humor. Talk to your friends and educate them about the benefits of humor, as they are very important.
LAUGH?
Sure, it may be important that we laugh daily, but why do we laugh? Well, we do not laugh consciously. (3) This explains why it is so hard to fake laugh, and why it is hard to control when we laugh. Little is known about the specific controls that the brain uses to make
us laugh, although we do know that it requires many things to happen, and that we have many thoughts and sensations involved with laughing. Every time we laugh, muscles from all over the body are used, even the arms and legs. We also do know that
laughter is contagious, and that people laugh at the sound of other people laughing. (3) We can also only laugh during pauses, and not while speaking. (3) Scientists believed that laughing evolved from the panting noise that monkeys and apes make when they are being tickled, and that we picked this trait up.
LAUGHTER
WHAT
DO
IS
WE
THE
BEST
FIND
Although laughter is a daily occurrence for most people, it is hard to determine exactly what is found funny. As it turns out, people enjoy laughing at other people more than laughing with each other at a joke. But, when they are laughed at, most of the time they do not enjoy it. In general, people enjoy public embarrassment more than anything. They love to see someone else do something stupid, so
Laughter can improve circulatory and cardiovascular health.
MEDICINE
Page 2
FUNNY?
that they can make fun of them and laugh with other people. A sign of a good sense of humor is when someone can laugh at themselves or a decision that they made. This person is less likely to be made fun of, because people do not find it as fun to make fun of a person who is making fun of themselves. Also, if someone tries to come back at someone who is making fun of them, they are just
making the situation worse by retaliating. The aggressor will just find more embarrassing things to bring up, causing the other people to laugh even more. These, sadly, are the situations that most people find humorous.
Adults and kids both laugh, each and every day, although the amount that they laugh tends to vary. Kids laugh up to 400 times each day, while most adults laugh only around 15 times each day. (2) Not only do they laugh a different number of times, but they laugh about different things. Kids laugh about silly, material things, such as
something that was on a cartoon or in a comic, while adults tend to laugh at different, intangible things, such as sarcasm. (5) Although kids laugh many more times than adults, it is difficult to determine which one is easier to make laugh. When adults are meeting new people, they tend to be more loose and willing to communicate with that
person. (5)Therefore, they will laugh more easily. On the other hand, kids tend to be more uptight in these situations, but will laugh at more immature things. (5) They laugh at the comics and cartoons, which many adults dislike.
PHYSIOLOGY
LAUGHTER
ADULTS
VS
KIDS
OF
We all know how we laugh, but what we are unaware of is what is going on inside our bodies while we laugh. Laughing causes the brain and body to release hormones and peptides, which cause reactions in the body. (1) Endorphins is one of these hormones released, and it stimulates feelings of car-
ing and forgiveness. (1) These chemicals and hormones give us a good feeling, and increases our optimism and confidence. Laughing also reverses the effects of stress, and promotes healthy breathing, increased lung capacity, and the strengthening of the lungs. (1) Laughing can also provide as a
workout, and it allows your heart to become stronger, which is similar to the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Laughing is essential to do, because it strengthens so many muscles that people find difficult to exercise.
Page 3
FUN
VOLUME
FACTS
OF
It is almost impossible to know how important humor can be in your life. There are thousands of statistics to help you get a rough outline of the benefits, but even these do not help you fully comprehend it’s importance. For example, who knew that laughing for just 15 seconds adds two days onto your life span? If more people knew this, they would be laughing constantly. Nowadays, though, people are
1,
ISSUE
1
LAUGHTER laughing less and less. In the 1950’s, people laugh for 18 minutes on average. (2) Now, that number has been reduced to about 4-6 minutes. (2) Studies also show that a good sense of humor can add 8 years onto your life. (2) The serious people who never laugh and spend their time doing work and things that are not entertaining think that they are living life the right way. Most adults, even,
stress the importance of a serious life, one without as much humor so that more work can be done. In the end, though, it is the people who find the balance between work and play who live the longest and have the happiest life. After all, there are 18 different types of smiles, so why not enjoy each and every one of them? (2)
As far as benefits go, fifteen minutes of laughing is the equivalent of two hours of sleep. (2)
For more information, go to MICDS
http://www.thehumorcollection.org/ Mrs. Carolyne Hood chood@micds.org
aschaberg@rams.micds.org
Thomas Schaberg 314-605-6907 tschaberg@westportperio.com Bob Nozik 408-971-1104 PollyannaN@aol.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Kataria, Madan. "The Physiology of Laughter: A Brief Overview." Blog Entry. Laughteryoga.org. Laughter Yoga International, 6 Oct. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <http://www.laughteryoga.org/lyblogs/dr-madan-kataria/124-thephysiology-of-laughter-a-brief-overview>. 2. "Laughter facts." Humor and laughter. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. <http://www.humor-laughter.com/laughterfacts.html>. 3. Provine, Robert. "A big mystery: Why do we laugh? - Mysteries of the Universe- msnbc.com." Breaking News, Weather, Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Travel, Science, Technology, Local, US & World Newsmsnbc.com. MSNBC, 27 May 1999. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077386/>. 4. Rogers, Kara. "Why Do We Laugh, and Can It Really Help Healing?" Blog Entry. Britannica Blogs. Britannica Encyclopedia, 10 July 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/07/funny-science-why-do-we -laugh-and-can-it-really-help-healing/>. 5. Schaberg, Thomas. "Laughter and Health." Personal interview. 21 Nov. 2009 6. Smith, Melinda, Gina Kemp, and Jeanne Segal. "Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor." Helpguide.org: Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Helpguide.org, May 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <http://helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm>.