Date: 23 March 2014
Time: 7:40 AM ET
Mood: Gonna take a nice hot shower after this <3
I believe that at one point or anther in our lives we've all heard that expression used: "
laughter is the best medicine." However, is there validity behind that statement? I'd like to think there is but at the same time, it could also be seen as a detrimental aspect in our lives. So, which one is it? Is laughter good or bad for you? In this blog entry we shall be looking at both sides of the same coin, and we'll see which argument is more successful and convincing.
Daily Music - "Yes" by LMFAO
One thing that is safe to say is that laughter is a good stress reliever. It can be comparable to a mild workout: when we laugh the muscles in our face and body are stretched and we end up breathing faster, which will send a healthy supply of oxygen to the tissues in our body. It will also boost your heart rate, which is very beneficial for people whose cardiovascular health may not be at par with others. One scientist by the name of William Fry claimed that "it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter," which just goes to show just how effective laughter can be. Furthermore, due to laughter being classified as a stress reliever, it can be said that laughter helps out with our immune systems. Stress is associated with a decreased immune system response (which means your body won't be able to fight diseases as effectively), so that means laughter's therapeutic effects as a stress reliever will increase the amount of disease-fighting antibodies in your body.
Daily Comic - "Gaming" by Bill and Jeff Keane of Family Circus
So with all of these benefits, how could laughter possibly be bad for you? We've all experienced laughter before, and I think that the overall resounding response is that the experience feels good. However, for some people, laughter can actually prove to be deadly. Recent studies have shown that laughter has been the the cause for heart ruptures, torn gullets, and incontinence. At the same time when you are laughing, you are taking in all of these foreign particles that are flying in the air, which for some people can invoke a dangerous asthma attack. In other cases, laughter has shown to be the cause for dislocated jaws or pneumothorax (a collapsed lung).
Daily Video - "Tetris God" by comedians College Humor
Of course though, a lot of those negatives are circumstantial. With a lot of those deadly effects are preexisting problems which seem to have a domino effect on the host. For the most part, the study of laughter is an uncharted course. As simply Dr. Robin E. Ferner, an honorary professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Birmingham, simply put it, "We don't know how much laughter is safe. There's probably a U-shaped curve: laughter is good for you, but enormous amounts are bad, perhaps." So what do you think? Do you think that laughter is good or bad for you? Has laughter proven to be therapeutic for yourself? Have you ever used laughter to invoke a healthy response out of a friend who was having a bad day? Comment below as I'd love to hear and discuss what you have to say about this!
‡ As always, the "Daily Bloggity" is self written by myself and includes just some of my opinions on different mediums. If you have a subject that you might want me to touch on, feel free to PM me or comment below! I would love to hear some of your ideas! Tune in tomorrow at 5PM Eastern Time for the next edition of the "Daily Bloggity!" Cheers! ‡
- elheroeoscuro
