Informative Speech

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

     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

There are many ways that people use humor. It has been used both in positive and negative ways. The negative, or more aggressive, view of humor is “evident in ancient writings” and “in the merciless teasing that children inflict on one another.”, However, in modern times, humor is now commonly seen as a positive aspect and that the laughter that arises is the “expression [an] incongruity.” Because of these two conflicting view of humor, there have been multiple theories proposed to explain it.

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

Laughter is contagious; much more infectious than any sneeze, sniffle, or yawn out there. When laughter is shared amongst a group, it forms a bond and spreads happiness throughout. Laughter is also known to increase confidence, even on the worst of days. In Ken Kesey's novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the patients, day by day, do not live their own lives, but instead, one that is under the control of Nurse Ratched. The patients have been in a mental institution for so long, they are surrounded by a depressing and bland world, so much so, that now they are relatively lifeless. In this novel, laughter is indeed the best medicine and frees one from control and oppression and gives the patient's confidence to have their own voice.

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).

Information (sub-point): While watching The Office, you’re bound to laugh at some point during the show whether it is one of Jim’s pranks on Dwight, or one of Stanley’s sassy comments, or from one of the many times Michael says “That’s what she said”. But what you may not know is that by laughing you’re actually helping you’re immune system out. A two-month study done in Taiwan gathered sixty- seven seventh graders and split them up into two groups. (Chang, 2013). One group read and did homework during study hall while the other group did a forty-five minute intervention. In this intervention, the students were first relaxed by breathing exercises, and then they were, “asked to release bottled up emotions” like saying they were afraid or cold (Chang, 2013). After they expressed their emotions, they laughed for two to three minutes. It was seen that after this experiment, the experimental group had lowered their levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, while the control group’s cortisol levels had stayed the same. (Chang, 2013). This is wonderful because according to the Mayo Clinic Staff (2011), the overexposure to cortisol can lead to weight gain, digestive problems, heart disease, and sleep problems. So you see, just by laughing from The

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

To build credibility Samson, Gross (2012) discussed how humor has long been seen as an effective coping strategy. However, in the following paragraph of the journal article, it states that experimental literature on the effects of humor is still considered inconclusive. In other words, before we make a conclusion regarding the type of humor that is more effective, we must determine whether humor

There are some studies which show biological role of coping humor in health status. In one such study conducted by Lai et al. (2010), coping humor was found to exert effects on health. Coping humor was found to have a significant effect on the overall cortisol level in the awakening period of participants. Participants scoring high on coping humor exhibited lower levels of cortisol in the awakening period as compared to those scoring low on coping humor. The loss of hormone, cortisol, has been found to result in progressive decline in the ability to fight with diseases. Therefore, these findings suggest coping humor to have significant effects on

Humor and laughter are always good for physical and mental health. While unhappiness and stress can affect individuals’ lifestyle and cause diseases, jokes and chuckles can release favorable hormones, strengthen organs’ functioning, relax individuals’ minds, and make them happy and productive. Consequently, the role of fun and laughs have assumed a lot of significance in the field of medicine. Common knowledge and research studies have shown that laughter can not only lighten up people who are afflicted with serious diseases and other illnesses, but can also facilitate them to recover quickly. However, when gallows humor involving medical professionals in healthcare settings is focused, it can give rise to ethical dilemmas. Gallows

The research has shown positive effects on the immune system, the vascular system, and blood sugar levels. Stress hormones suppress the immune system. Laughter reduces those stress hormones, thereby allowing the immune system to work more efficiently. When one laughs, the body produces natural “killer cells” to help fight off diseases, viruses and tumors. These killer cells are “Gamma-interferon (a disease fighting protein), T-cells which are a major part of the immune response, and B-cells, which make disease-destroying anti-bodies. Another internal result of laughter is the increased concentration of salivary immunoglobulin A which defends against infectious organisms” (Brain). Morgan Griffin, in his article “Is Laughter the Best Medicine?” reports results regarding the vascular system and blood sugar levels; University of Maryland researchers studied the differing effects of watching comedies or dramas. With the dramas, the blood vessels contracted, while with the comedies, blood flowed normally – expanding and contracting easily. ”One study of 19 people with diabetes looked at the effects of laughter on blood sugar levels. After eating, the group attended a tedious lecture. On the next day, the group ate the same meal and then watched a comedy. After the comedy, the group had lower blood sugar levels than they did after the lecture” (Griffin).

Laughter makes you happy, forget your problems at the moment and give you an opportunity to breathe, if only for a second. Laughter is innate, stimulates circulation, increases the immune system’s defenses and enhances mental functioning (Olpin & Hesson, 2016). When we laugh, we create a sense of calmness within. This calmness assists with reducing stress and anxiety. Therefore, it creates eustress, releases endorphins, and promotes psychological well-being (Olpin & Hesson, 2016). The movie Bridesmaids increases my endorphins and turns a gray day bright and sunny. I have been a bridesmaid in several family and friends, wedding party. Usually, I am the planner of the events for the bride. I can relate to some of the experiences of this wonderful

Philosophically, humour has been explained with the superiority theory, the relief, and incongruity theory. Superiority theory suggests that humour and ridicule are often used against an adversary as by joking about someone, we establish our superiority. This theory suggests that laughter helps us to establish superiority. The Relief theory suggests that humour is a form of relief of the nervous system and laughter acts as a valve and helps in relieving the pent-up nervous energy.

Used as both a shield and a weapon, humor has the power to soothe the most wounded and threaten the most evil. These qualities speak to its inherent potential – a potential that has not yet been entirely tapped or even recognized. Holocaust survivor Emil Fackenheim said, “We kept our morale through humor,” and many other survivors of the Holocaust, POW camps, torture and abuse have shared his sentiment. The stories of these survivors and findings of modern medical research support the notion that humor is an extremely effective tool for