With all the research on stress and its effects on the body, many people are wondering how to counteract the negative effects and reduce their levels of stress. Some interesting research has been done on laughter and its effects on stress and possible improvements in human health. All this talk might lead one to think that laughter truly is the best medicine.
Laughter is very complex and not much is known about the mechanism of laughter. The study of laughter is referred to as “gelotology” and many lab experiments have failed because of this complexity and the inability of participants to laugh on command. What is known about laughter is that it is a physiological response that is found in humans and many other animals, and although the science behind laughter is not completely understood, some experiments have given scientists a clue at how it works.
The pattern of brain activity has been monitored with people being hooked up to and electroencephalograph (EEG) and it is found that an electrical pattern occurs through the cerebral cortex in response to humor. If the electrical wave had a negative charge, there was laughter. If the electrical wave had a positive charge, there was no laughter (Provine 2000). Many areas of the brain are involved in humor and laughter, such as the frontal lobe, cerebral cortex, and occipital lobe. Laughter usually results in response to humor, and so the brain must process what it thinks is funny and respond appropriately. A major finding in laughter research has found that the limbic system is central to laughter (Provine 2000).
Experiments on the effects of laughter on the body mostly yield positive findings. Laughing does increase blood pressure and circulation, boost the immune system, reduce cortisol levels, all while giving the body a good workout by stretching and using multiple muscles. But even more interesting are the results that say that laughter does not significantly improve health. Yes, laughter has a positive side, but is there such a thing as the negative side of laughter? Yes, yes there is.
The reason why people are not prescribing laughter to patients is because there are some negative aspects to laughter. Many are minor, such as pulled muscles, shortness of breath, and even people claiming “muscle loss” when laughing too hard, but some people don’t realize that laughter has evolved too (Martin 2001). Some scientists are investigating why laughter is not good for everyone. Today, people laugh when they are nervous, bitter, and even at another person’s expense. These reasons for laughter are not ones that show positive effects on health and well being. Who would have thought that laughing can be bad for you if not used right. So, is laughter really the best medicine? Maybe not, but don’t second guess laughing the next time you hear a joke, I think you will be fine.
Martin, Rod A. "Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health: Methodological Issues and Research Findings." Psychological Bulletin 127.4 (2001): 504-19. Print.
Provine, Robert. "The Science of Laughter | Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness Find a Therapist. 2000. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. .
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ReplyDeleteI tried to find an article based on laughter’s positive and negative consequences, but I stumbled upon a video based on a study for laughter. It was claimed that laughter helps with disease, but more specifically diabetes. As Doctor Barry Ramo explained, laughter is really good for a patient’s heart. Doctor Barry Ramo went through a study that was done, which focused a group of diabetics. Some of the diabetics watched funny videos for 30 minutes a day for a year, and the other group of diabetics carried on with normal life (no required funny videos). The results concluded that the HDL (good cholesterol) increased, and the C-reactive protein (inflammation marker) levels decreased. There was no change within the control group. Dr. Barry Ramo claimed that these studies were small and possible reason for HDL increase was because you are exercising your abdominal muscles (enough ha-ha-ha-ing tends to give your belly quite a workout!). Not only does laughter appear to decrease stress, but decreases possible prevalence of disease. After watching this video I had a few questions such as “what was the exact study?” “Was there any other change in lifestyle for the diabetics?” “Have any other studies been done on these findings?” It appears that if laughter was indeed a cause for significant health benefits, then further research needs to be done in this area. (It could be a VERY cheap medicine for positive health benefits.)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSYI-e8iY5o
(make sure to check out the video!)
Laughter as medicine is a very interesting and intriguing topic. Laughter is cheap!
ReplyDeleteThus, if it shows any benefit to health then it is a desirable treatment and therapy. There are several theories and observed studies that rest on the idea that humor and laughter have beneficial effects on physical health. A theory mechanism suggests that laughter produces physiological changes in different systems of the body that may benefit health (Martin, 216). In support, laughter may benefit health by exercising and relaxing muscles, improving respiration, and stimulating circulation (Martin, 216).
Also, some studies support that laughter provides beneficial effects on blood pressure and longevity (Martin, 216). Laughter is connected with short-term increases in blood pressure and heart rate, but no longer-term effects (Martin, 217). Another beneficial effect is longevity of individuals—that those with a greater sense of humor will live longer (Martin 218). This is understandable because with laughter comes socializing. More social gatherings have been studied to reduce the risk of depression—many elderly communities have been studied with this focus.
For example, a fairly recent article by Hae-Jin Ko and Chang-Ho Youn discussed a study on the effects of laughter therapy on depression, cognition and sleep of the elderly in a community. The study consisted of 109 subjects over the age of 65 which were divided into two groups: 48 subjects in the laughter therapy group and 61 subjects in the control (Ko & Youn, 267). The laughter therapy group went under therapy four times for one month and a series of surveys were conducted on all individuals to measure a difference in laughter therapy or no laughter therapy (Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Insomnia Severity Index, etc) (Ko & Youn, 267). Their results concluded that laughter therapy is useful and has positive effects on depression, insomnia, and sleep quality in the elderly.
The negative effects that Ariel discussed were interesting and reasonable—including pulled muscles, shortness of breath, and laughing to avoid stressful situations or at another’s expense. Ideally, if laughter was the best medicine it would be very easy and inexpensive to use. Laughter shows its potential to prolong life and benefit physiological changes in various systems—so it is easy to agree that there are benefits to laughing at a good joke.
Ko, Hae-Jin and Chang-Ho Youn. Effects of laughter therapy on depression, cognition and sleep among the community-dwelling elderly. Geriatrics & Gerontology International, January 2001, 11(3):267-274. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.dml.regis.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1447-0594.2010.00680.x/pdf.
Martin, Rod A. Is laughter the best medicine? Humor, laughter, and physical health. American Psychologiacl Society, December 2002, 11(6): 216-220. http://web.ebscohost.com.dml.regis.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=119&sid=ca50c140-41bf-4fa7-b255-ae37cfecdcb1%40sessionmgr110.
I have to agree with Ariel and the article in some aspects of this. According to the first article I read, Adams (2007) talked about how nurses using laughing to relive the stress of their jobs, but they also use laughter to cope with situations that they are not entirely comfortable. And while the laughter may help to lower to longer term effects of stress, in this case, it may be seen as coping mechanism for uncomfortableness as well.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the 'bad effects' of laughing, the second study Siclari et al. (2011) studied people who laugh in their sleep! It has been found that some people in REM sleep laugh, thus disturbing their sleep and creating a disorder in sleep. So in this case, laughing actually does cause physiological distress on the body, thus resulting in cognitive issues and probably fatigue (Siclari et al. 2011).
So laughter is probably the best medicine for stress relief, but overall, I have to agree that it is not that effective for other things, and can even be disruptive!
Adams, V. (2007). Laughing It Off: Uncovering the Everyday Work Experience of Nurses. International Journal Of Qualitative Methods, 6(1), 1-15.
Siclari, F. F., Wienecke, M. M., Poryazova, R. R., Bassetti, C. L., & Baumann, C. R. (2011). Laughing as a manifestation of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 17(5), 382-385. doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2011.02.008
I have noticed whenever I am having a horrible day or am really stressed about an event in my life, laughing and joking with my friends always seems to put my mind and stress at ease. Laughing temporarily makes me forget about all the tedious tasks I need to complete and allows for a break. Being consumed with funny thoughts in a funny situation is a stress reliever and allows our stress hormones to temporally decrease, which is a good medicine.
ReplyDeleteContrary to popular belief, the bible has been the most inspirational book of truth. The origin of laughter being the best medicine is captured in biblical text. Proverbs 17:22 declare, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” As our attitudes and thoughts reflect the joy of Christ, we can experience healing. In contrast, do you suppose that sickness and disease is the result of a discontented heart? I believe it is plausible since we have learned how stress can invoke wear and tear on our physiological processes leading sickness.
ReplyDeleteI remember a while back finding myself in the middle of a stressful situation when all of a sudden my mother-in-law told me to just laugh it off. Since I was under pressure to act due to being surrounded by other people I forced myself to follow her directions and snapped out of the state of potentially exploding. My wife uses the same approach with me from time to time. At the moment of a “silly stressful” situation, when I feel my blood pressure rising by a factor of two, such a naïve approach helps me preserve my health by giving in to a challenge of laughing things off, as difficult as it may seem at the time. Research has shown that mental stress is associated with series of inflammatory reactions that lead to arterial deposition of fat and cholesterol eventually resulting in a heart attack (Murray, 2009).
ReplyDeleteAlthough, laughter may not necessarily be a medicine for general stress reduction, remembering to laugh during certain stressful situations may help divert a person from expressing a full frustration into a positive laughter. Remembering to follow such a routine regularly, may result in a more positive outlook at situations in life. Murray points out the most significant survey finding that people with heart disease responded less humorously to everyday life situations, generally laughed less and displayed more anger and hostility in comparison to people that didn’t have heart disease. So, next time when you’ll find yourself enraged at the guy that cut you off in traffic, just simply laugh it out. This will certainly save your body from an unnecessary stress and will probably annoy the guy that just cut you off. But remember, it’s probably not a good idea to laugh during a stressful meeting with your furious boss.
References:
Murray, W. (2009). Laughter is the "Best Medicine" for Your Heart. University of Maryland Medical Center.
Your comment on humans not being the only animals that laugh spike my interest in the matter and lead me to find some research on other animals who laugh. As it turns out laughing was around way before our ha-has and ta-he-he-hes or even our ‘LOL’s. Chimps our closest relative have been known to have a form of playful laughter when the play with each other. It has been observed that they pant in a manner that extraordinarily similar the human laugh. Dogs have a very similar panting laugh as well. Our giggles have been compared to the chirping noise that rats make as they play with each other and are tickled. So there it is, animals enjoy a nice chuckle too!
ReplyDeleteReference to the above post:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7348880/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/its-no-joke-even-animals-laugh/