Laughter is the Best Medicine?
A 2099 University of Maryland study of individuals with heart disease yielded the striking finding that there is scientific evidence that the act of laughing does have health-promoting effects. A study of 300 participants compared the responses of multiple-choice questionnaires designed to measure how much the subjects laughed in certain situations and general responses to anger and hostility. Half the subjects were known to have had heart disease and the other half did not and the individuals who had not suffered from heart disease had significantly more humorous responses to everyday situations than the experimental group (Murray 2009).
In this quantitative study, the design was purely correlational rather than causative. It could be argued that participants who responded with what the researchers considered to be more positive, lighthearted choices could have better had healthcare, not have been a part of historically discriminated-against groups and have had a sense of humor more in line with the researchers, or even simply have been younger. In other words, other factors which made them less likely to have suffered from heart disease could be linked to their positive responses on the questionnaires. Although this experiment had a hypothesis, namely that...
Laughter and Healing The Effects of Laughter on the Healing Process and the Use of Technology to Track Statistics How Laughter Works Benefits of Laughter Using Technology in Humor Research Humor Therapy The Effects of Laughter on the Healing Process and the Use of Technology to Track Statistics In the United States, billions of dollars are spent every year on medical treatments (Diggs, 2004). However, according to Diggs, people often "overlook the coping mechanisms we have been
Life can be very stressful. It would be helpful if there were actually "time outs" during the day for hearing a couple of jokes or watching a 15-minute humorous video. If it is true that it can be as healthy as aerobics, then we are getting double the advantage -- both a mental and physiological benefit. Recently I have read a few articles about nursing homes hiring "comic coaches," to
" Hence, Ayan adds, with laughter, the lives of people with elevated levels of cortisol might be saved. Arguably that's a bit of a stretch, but for the purposes of his article Ayan is justified in using it. Keeping anxiety "at bay" through humor is the sum and substance of a 1990 study conducted by psychologists; 53 college students were told they were going to get an electric shock in 12
How African Customary and Social Practices have been Utilized to Enhance Coping Strategies in Times of Crisis, focus on health pandemic Background of the Study Centuries before missionaries and colonialists arrived in Africa and centuries before the slave trade commenced, Africans in Africa had cultural and social practices and mechanisms to sustain their societies and to prevent the loss of lives during crises. The practices and mechanisms included health education practices, procedures
One of the eyes is cracked. The last room Karen checks is the kitchen. She is still holding and petting the teddy bear when she stops in front of the sink. She stares at the spot on the counter where the teddy bear had landed that time that Mark threw it across the room. The camera is behind Karen but as she turns around, it focuses on the back of
Humor and Health: The evolutionary benefits of laughing easily According to Mora-Ripoli (2012), the old cliche that laughter is the best medicine is really true: laughter, even in the absence of something that is funny, can actually be healing. "Laughter can lead to direct physiological changes to the muscular, cardiovascular, immune, and neuroendocrine systems, which would have immediate or long-term beneficial effects to the body" (Mora-Ripoli 2013:57). Although humor can provoke laughter,
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