A Look at Humor, Laughter, Tickling, and the Brain Essay

Humor most definitely is an instinct that evolved to serve some purpose in everyone’s lives. There is a meaning The story, What Makes Us Laugh by Leon Rappoport thoroughly analyzes the different theories in people’s reactions of humor. Rappoport discusses how certain jokes succeed and fail, why we laugh when we don’t think we should, and why sometimes we might not react to humor. I found this part quite interesting when he was saying certain people react with either boredom or fascination, with boredom being more prevalent. Personally, I would be captivated in this analysis of theories because not only is it interesting, but it also teaches one further about humor than one would not expect, especially the theory of superiority.

1-Aside from improving our moods, laughter can reduce stress, help fight infection, and reduce pain.

Depression and sadness can be a very tough emotion to deal with. However laughing and depression are opposites therefore, laughing will help relieve depression. As humans, we will try to do anything to find happiness. Why do humans try to fight against depression? Depression is like a disease because it is very adverse for our health. Therefore, we will try to be upbeat so we can stay healthy. Laughing brings a lot of benefits. Laughter relaxes our body physically and mentally. Laughing relaxes the muscles in our body and it helps relieve stress. Laughter boosts the immune system by increasing immune cells, which helps fight disease. Because of this, laughing makes us more resistant to diseases. When we laugh, we release endorphins. Endorphin is our body’s chemical that makes us feel superb. Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. (Smith, Melinda, Segal, Laughter is the best medicine, Par. 2) Sadness and laughter are opposites. Since laughter is a form of happiness, it is a powerful counter to sadness. It is physically impossible for a human to be happy and sad at the same time. Research shows the human brain cannot be happy and sad at the same time. The human brain will either be happy or sad not both at the same time. When humans are depressed, they tend to be unsocial. Laughing and smiling brings

World famous Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud and founder of psycho-analysis published a book entitled ‘Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious’ which deals with the perennial themes of comedy and laughter. He analyses three laughter situations: der Witz (translated as

Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions" (Moss 1). Humor is studied by many researchers in sociology, psychology, art, literature, and medicine. When people wonder whether humor aids in areas other than health, a treasure trove of possible benefits to the learning or educational community is opened up. Humor can be used as a tool to promote learning.Research speaks to the many benefits of humor in healing, to its benefits in the classroom or boardroom, from reducing stress of students or employees, to boosting self-esteem and feelings of camaraderie. Additionally, studies show that those who use humor to convey a message are often more favorably perceived. Humor helps deliver the presenter's message to

Laughter relates to positive thinking. The positive thinking helps us to improve our immune system and become healthier. It helps in removing the negative thoughts from our mind and not letting our immune system become worse further.

     Laughter relates a lot to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It is a representation of the ability to decide for your self. Billy Bibbit was always being bossed around by the nurse and his mother. Once he knew he could laugh and stop listening to what everyone demanded of him he started to loosen up. . "It's natural to all human beings to laugh. It's society which restricts us and tells us that we must settle down.'' (Murphy) The society that Billy was in, was putting to much pressure on him to settle down when he was just trying to be himself. That was the part that was making him crazy. The pressure the ward and his mother put on him to be restricted led him to his suicide. When Billy started laughing he actually started to seem normal. He actually slept with a prostitute, knowing that if his mother found out she would never see him the same way. ."It affects our psychoneuro-immunology.'' (Murphy) “In other words, medical research has established a link between emotions, the nervous system and endocrine

Patch may have been on to something since science itself claims laughter is good for the human body. For one, decreasing the pain you feel and helping your blood vessels to function better; allowing them to expand which increases blood flow. All of which is good for the heart and brain. (Hara Estroff Marano,

Laughing in itself is therapeutic. People laugh for many different reasons. Some people even laugh when something horrible occurs, it is a method of escape from what horrors or mishaps are going on around you. "Many psychotherapists find humor a valuable tool in helping their patients to solve their social and emotional problems." (G. Samuel) Chief bromden was

To laugh is defined as: “to express certain emotions, especially mirth or delight, by a series of spontaneous, usually unarticulated sounds often accompanied by corresponding facial and bodily movements” (Dictionary, 2013). This simple act has been suggested to boost immunity, lower stress hormone, decrease pain, relax muscles, and prevent heart disease (Smith & Segal, 2012), and those are just the physical health benefits. Other studies have suggested that laughter is a great way to ease anxiety and fear, relieve stress, improve mood, and even enhance resilience (Bennett et al., 2003). Not to mention that sharing a good laugh with friends and family can bring these relationships closer (Bennett et al., 2003).

Laughter is the most important trait of humans. When people laugh it creates a joyful environment. It makes our days better. Laughter also can form a sense of well-being and can temporarily relieve pain. I love to laugh. It makes me feel better. The person who has the most memorable laugh is my dad. I feel that laughter is contagious because when someone starts laughing everybody starts. For me, a lot of things make me laugh. For example, jokes make me laugh, funny stories make me laugh, memes make me laugh, and vines make me laugh. For me, going a week without laughing is impossible. That week would be the saddest week of my life. I’ve heard laughter is the best medicine and I believe it is. It makes all bad things turn good. It brightens up our day. Thank god there is a such thing as

For example, it stops distressing emotions, for instance, you can’t feel sad, angry, or anxious while you are laughing! Of course we all know it relieves stress, but it also helps you relax and recharge, by increasing your energy, which enables you to focus and accomplish more. Laughter also has a positive impact on your mind set. It shifts perspective to see situations more realistically. If you approach situations with a humorous perspective, it creates psychological distance, so you won’t feel overwhelmed and can diffuse conflicts. It also improves mood, strengthens resilience, and overall, just adds joy and zest to your

The present study uses humor as an emotion-regulation and tries to determine whether different types of humor have different effects on negative emotion. Another major issue with this research is that author fails to acknowledge the other aspects of emotion as a variable. The author is only interested in different types of humor and it effects on those emotions, which are perceived negative. However emotion as a variable is not only limited to negative aspects but it may also include other aspects (e.g.,

During this study researchers Rod A. Martin and Herbert M Lefcourt accomplished three similar but separate studies. The first study was on how much humor reduces stress in life situations among college students. The second was on the application of a humorous situation and how much it would relate to their use of humor in “real life” situations. The third and final study was a follow up from study one and more accurately assessed the participants use of humor in stressful situations.

Primarily, the article 2A “The Healing Power of Laughter” by Mary Fairchild states that laughing can help you in your health. So why don't we laugh more? According to Fairchild “laughing can Lower blood pressure, strengthen immune system, and even burn calories”. So, why not laugh all the time. Well if you are having a bad day and are depressed, it has been proved that if you just laugh when you are depressed it can make your day better without having to take the high cost of antidepressant pills.