Laughter Case

1. Laughter

Laughter has social and health benefits. There are several theories on what makes different people laugh and why they laugh. Laughter is even being used as therapy to help patients.

2. Benefits of Laughter

* Provine Study

People are about 30 times more likely to laugh when they are in a social situation than when they are alone (Robert R. Provine)

In a study conducted by Provine he surveyed 1200 natural occurrences of human laughter. He eavesdropped on many conversations and he found that less than 20 percent of the laughter was a response to anything resembling a formal effort at humor.

The average speaker laughs about 46 percent more often than the audience. Females laugh more often than males.

3. The American Association for Therapeutic Humor

* What's funny to whom?

1. Toddlers and children find small simple things to be funny

2. Pre-teens and teens tend to laugh at jokes that have to do with sex, food, authority figures, and any subject an adult considers off limits. They use humor to protect themselves or feel superior

3. Adults basically laugh at issues that stress them out. They tend to laugh at similar things that happened in their culture, such as political or economic issues.

3. Most researchers on humor agree on 3 basic theories:

* The incongruity theory suggests that humor arises when things that don't normally go together replace logic and familiarity. Researcher Thomas Veatch says a joke becomes funny when we expect one outcome and get another.

* The superiority theory comes into play when we laugh at jokes that focus on someone else's mistakes, stupidity or misfortune. We feel superior to this person, and laugh at it.

* The relief theory is what moviemakers use. In action films or thrillers where tension is high, the director uses comic relief at just the right times. He builds up the tension or suspense as much as possible and then breaks it down slightly with a side comment, enabling the viewer to relieve himself of pent-up emotion, just so the movie can build it up again. Finding something funny in a stressful situation gives us a break when dealing with overwhelming situations or stress.

4. Health Benefits

* Laughter releases tension in the diaphragm and relieve pressure on the liver and other internal organs.

* Researchers estimate that laughing 100 times is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike. Blood pressure is lowered, and there is an increase in vascular blood flow and in oxygenation of the blood, which further assists healing.

* It has been shown that laughing helps protect the heart. Stress impairs the protective barrier lining a person's blood vessels. Once that is impaired, it can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to cholesterol build up in a person's coronary arteries, which can ultimately cause a heart attack. Also according