Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Laugh it up! - A Speech on the Medical Benefits of Laughter

Good Essays
765 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Laugh it up! - A Speech on the Medical Benefits of Laughter
Our five senses are not enough for ideal living. We need to use our sixth sense: our sense of humor. Humor is not merely telling jokes; it is the way we view the world. We can be sincere about life without taking it so seriously. We can laugh about our mistakes and pain. Louis Kornenberger explains: Humor simultaneously wounds and heals, indicts and pardons, diminishes and enlarges; it constitutes inner growth at the expense of outer gain.Yet, we humans laugh an average of only 17 times a day. Biologically, humans are the few living beings that laugh, and yet we take this luxury for granted. Laughter releases endorphins, a drug 10 times more powerful than morphine, into the body. This gives the body that feel-good feeling. Laughter can lead to humans having healthier lives, as well as many other benefits.

In the first chapter of Norman Cousins book Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient, he tells about how he was diagnosed in 1964 with AS (the acute inflammation of the spine). He goes on to say that his case was so severe that he was given a one in five-hundred chance of recovery and only a few months to live. Realizing that negative thoughts and attitudes can result in illness, he reasoned that positive thoughts and attitudes might have the opposite effect. So he left the hospital and checked into a hotel where he took mega doses of Vitamin C and watched humorous movies and shows. He found that ten minutes of boisterous laughter resulted in at least two hours of pain-free sleep. He continued his routine until he recovered.

That shows that laughter can possibly be a miracle cure.

However, that is just one benefit of laughing. There are numerous others. For instance, laughter lowers inhibitions, dissolving tension, stress, anxiety, irritation, anger, grief, and depressions. After a good dose of laughter, you will experience a sense of well-being. This was simplified by Mary Pettibone Poole, who said "He who laughs, lasts."G.K. Chesterton says that laughter also has medical benefits. Medical researchers have found that laughter boosts the immune system. The study of how behavior and the brain affect the immune system is psychoneuroimmunology. Though still in its infancy, this science is rapidly gaining much attention as humanity strives to understand the mind-body relationship. What they have found out is that laughter reduces pain by releasing endorphins that are more potent than equivalent amounts of morphine. Humor helps integrate both hemispheres of our brain, for the left hemisphere is used to decipher the verbal content of a joke while the right hemisphere interprets whether it is funny or not. It also helps you be more productive, a better communicator, and a superior team player. Furthermore, according to a report given by Dr. James Walsh a professor at Duke, Laughter is the equivalent to a small amount of exercise. It massages all the organs of the body. In the words of William James: We dont laugh because were happy, we are happy because we laugh!That is only the tip of iceberg. How Stuff Works adds more information to the already long list of benefits. For instance, did you know that laughing 100 times is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike? It also gives your diaphragm, and your abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles a workout. That is usually why you feel exhausted after a long bout of laughter—you have just had an aerobic workout!Doctors have even used Laughter Therapy, which teaches people to laugh—openly—at things that are not usually funny and to cope in difficult situations by using humor.

Furthermore, Comedy Clubs have opened up, and they are now considered The Minds Spa! Even a TV channel has been solely made to make people laugh 24/7/365 (366 on Leap Year). They call this station Comedy Central.

So, to sum it all up, laughter has numerous health benefits that can help you lead a long-lasting life. Humans need to realize that laughter is a luxury, and its pros far outweigh his cons. So the next time you feel down, listen to a good joke or read a funny story and laugh your problems away!Works CitedA Big Mystery: Why do we Laugh? MSNBC. 27 May 1999 .

Cousins, Norman. Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. New York City: Bantam, 1991.

G.K. Chesterton. Benefits of Laughter. 21 March 2007. 22 March 2007 .

How Laughter Works. How Stuff Works. 21 March 2007. 22 March 2007 .

Cited: Big Mystery: Why do we Laugh? MSNBC. 27 May 1999 . Cousins, Norman. Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. New York City: Bantam, 1991. G.K. Chesterton. Benefits of Laughter. 21 March 2007. 22 March 2007 . How Laughter Works. How Stuff Works. 21 March 2007. 22 March 2007 .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Laughter is something that pleases the mind. Throughout our entire lives, we search for things that make us feel, even for the slightest amount of time, happy. Billy Collins writes, “Chalk dust flurrying down in winter, / nights dark as a blackboard” (Page 535). He is referring to happy times as a teenager. Being more than happy when the snow comes and school is out. Having nothing but time to be out of the house at all times of the night. Through conscious decisions, we forget about life. Sometimes even forgetting about the future.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sarah states that laughter is beneficial to health because it relieves stress and helps one socially. Information from another article Laughter is the Best Medicine concurs with what is being said. " Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. ....Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert" (Smith, Segal). She gives physical and mental effects of laughter such as decreased risk of heart attack, increase pain tolerance, increased intelligence, production of antibodies and protective cells that fight off disease and infections. Smith and Segal created charts, shown in fig 1, with lists that include benefits of laughter that Sarah mentions and more. In the article The Health Benefits of Laughter similar benefits are also mentioned: "research shows that when you laugh, there is an increase in oxygen-rich blood flow in your body, possibly due to the release of endorphins, which create a chemical rush that counters negative feelings and stress"(…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Humor appear’s to help people’s psychological and physical well being.” It says in Peter McGraw’s essay “The Importance of Humor Research.” It has been proven that it is good for your body to react in such a way to a funny situation but the psychological portion of it is hard to understand. When someone laughs, endorphins are released from the brain and are sent throughout the body creating the feeling of pleasure. It is a healthy alternative to any negative situation, whether it be negative or awkward it can be made easier with a joke here or…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laughter also proves a vital role in helping the patients deal with their problems. Not only does it help them deal with problems but it also gave them the push toward progress on getting out of the institution.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Oftentimes, people say that laughter is the best medicine. Sure—laughter can cure bad days, and hard times, but laughter is not the only way that we can cope with problems. We as human beings go through many emotions, and as you can tell, laughter is only one of them. When people face tough situations, their reaction to the episode can be with tears, laughter, or both.…

    • 1894 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laughter helps your soul. I love having a sense of humor. My gift of having a great sense humor has got me through a lot of pain, and heartache throughout my life. I’ve learned that it’s good sometimes to laugh at your pain or maybe situations you have been in instead of just being worried, stressed, and embarrassed. Just find humor and look at it as a “Live and Learn” situation. But I love making my friends and family laugh. Because it also makes me happy and it brings joy to my life to make other people laugh and to see them happy.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why does hearing other people laugh make us more likely to laugh ourselves? "We laugh 30 times as much when we're with other people than we do when we're alone," says Provine. Instead, the purpose of a laugh could be to trigger positive feelings in other people. When you laugh, the people around you might start laughing in response. Soon, the whole group is cheerful and relaxed. Laughter can ease tension and foster a sense of group unity.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laughter is an abstract idea that brings happiness to everyone. When you are having a bad day, a simple joke can brighten it a little. It is crucial to laugh every day because it makes you smile and turn your whole day into a great one.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laughter

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Laughter takes the mind away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions in a more beneficial way than other mere distractions. It dissolves distressing emotions, you cant feel anxious, angry, or sad when you are laughing. Laughter helps you relax and recharges, it reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    humor

    • 821 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Evidence for the direct benefits of humor lie in studies of the body’s chemical reaction to laughter. Among other things, laughter has been shown to reduce stress, boost the immune system and enhance brain chemistry through the release of serotonin and endorphins. Many popular antidepressants target the neurotransmitter serotonin by either blocking its reuptake…

    • 821 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Humor, as it is used today, is a generally positive connotation for anything that people do or say that evokes mirth and laughter out of others. This general concept of humor has developed only recently in modern day society. Interestingly enough this word has developed over centuries and has completely changed in meaning with new connotations for invoking laughter.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sense of Humor

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A sense of humour can also lift a person up from the troubles of everyday life. Any person with a sense of humour is able to laugh at himself and find something funny in the sticky situations he gets into. By laughing at mundane problems, such as accidentally dyeing an entire load of laundry pink or being chased round the block by someone's poodle, he shows that he has, in a way, risen above these problems and, to quote Shakespeare who has a great sense of humour, he was "born in a merry hour."…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The benefits of humor, though, aren't all mental. Humor triggers laughter. According to physiological studies, the laughter, in turn, stimulates our cardiovascular systems by increasing the rate at which the heart beats and contracting the muscles. In fact, one study suggested that laughing one hundred times per day is the equivalent of spending ten minutes on a rowing machine.…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Benefits of Laughter

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli. Most commonly, it is considered a visual expression of a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, relief, etc. However on some occasions it may express other emotions, such as embarrassment, apology or confusion (nervous laughter) or courtesy laugh. Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing an emotional context to conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group,it signals acceptance and positive interactions with others. Laughter is sometimes seen as contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback.…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laughter Therapy

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Laughter is the best medicine!” We’ve all heard that before, but is it true? Studies show 20-25 minutes of laughter every day is healthy for the body. Laughing also helps with depression, cancer patients, making our hearts healthy. It also strengthens our immune systems, relieves stress, helps us look younger and so much more. Laughing Therapy relates to positive thinking.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays