Final project for my CWID class by Owen Moss

1. Is laughter really the
best medicine?
By: Owen Moss

2. What I know
Laughter has always been a way to make someone feel better. Either if it's
after a bad day or to cheer up a crying child. For all of us there has been a
point in our life where we have used humor to dull some sense of pain or
negativity either it be through a comedy tv show or telling a joke to make
someone who is hurt laugh and have a moment of comfort.

3. What I know part 2
I can say that the best days of life are always spent laughing. Whether it is a
day with my friends or with my family I know that if I am enjoying a good
laugh I feel good and I won't be brought down by any ailment or sadness that I
had. Laughter might not be the best medicine but I know for a fact that it does
something to you and I am going to find out what.

4. What I want to know
- How laughter affects your brain
- How laughter affects your pain receptors
- What experts have to say about laughter
- Personal stories about how and why laughter aided in their sickness or
injuries
- Any relation to laughter and sickness

5. The Journey
I started by searching, “laughter is the best medicine” and the first link looked
like it was waiting for me because it had everything I was really researching.
After I read through the article I went back and tried finding some other
sources such as information to reaffirm the info I had just read, more insight
or even answer questions that I didn’t know were related to my search. I
found a link saying how laughing so hard could kill you. I read the post but I
didn’t find it too credible because it came from a website where anyone can
post. Sort of like a forum but now that the question was in my mind I went on
searching from there.

6. The Journey part 2
After researching the new question I wanted an answer to I found a source
that explained that there has been instances where people have died from
laughing and why. It was very interesting and there is an obvious reason why. I
didn’t want my search to end there so I decided to ask one last question that
was a little more broad but could still pertain to my research. “Why do we
laugh and what makes our bodies laugh?” Even though this question wasn’t
directly related to “laughter is the best medicine” I still found out a lot about
why humans and other species laugh. It made me understand a little more
about how and why laughing happen.

7. Facts I've learned
- Laughter can release tension in your muscles for up to 45 min (Robinson)
- Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and
infection-fighting antibodies (improving your resistance to disease)
(Robinson)
- Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow
(Robinson)
- Laughter helps diffuse anger and resentment which leads to a negative
mental state that causes stress leading to being prone to sickness
(Robinson)

8. More facts
- Laughter has been proven to counteract depression (Lechner)
- Laughter reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in
diabetics and nondiabetics alike (Marano)
- a study of 20 healthy people, provoking laughter did as much good for
their arteries as aerobic activity (Marano)
- Laughing helps strengthen your ab muscles. That’s why it can hurt if you
laugh for too long (LaMeaux)
- People have died from laughing by rupturing an aneurysm (Gayomali)
- Humans use laughter as a social cue and relate to one another by
laughing (Provine)

9. Reflection
I have come to learn a lot through researching my topic. I assumed that I
would find a little bit just because I assumed laughter being a form of
medicine was more of a saying than anything else but I found plenty of
information to prove that it does have an affect. I would still like to know how
much pain can be dulled with laughter but I am assuming it varies per person.
I have learned a lot about how to relate topics and make connections to
different areas in my research.

10. Conclusion
After doing all the research I feel obligated to share that everyone needs to
make room for more happiness in their own life. Share a moment of
happiness with someone you love everyday and you’ll have a great impact on
them and yourself. No matter how you spend that time just make sure that
you understand the importance of living a joyful life and share that with
everyone you love. Be happy!

11. Work cited
Robinson, Lawrence, et al. “Laughter Is the Best Medicine.” Depression in Older Adults: Recognizing the Signs of Elderly Depression and Getting Treatment,
www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm
Gayomali, Chris. “Turns out, You Can Die from Laughing Too Hard.” The Week - All You Need to Know about Everything That Matters, 19 Dec. 2013,
theweek.com/articles/453952/turns-die-from-laughing-hard.
Provine, Robert. “A Big Mystery: Why Do We Laugh?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 14 Dec. 2003,
www.nbcnews.com/id/3077386/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/big-mystery-why-do-we-laugh/.
Lechner, Tamara. “6 Reasons Why Laughter Is the Best Medicine.” The Chopra Center, 24 Feb. 2017, chopra.com/articles/6-reasons-why-laughter-is-the-best-
medicine.
Marano, Hara. “Laughter: The Best Medicine.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Apr. 2005, www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200504/laughter-
the-best-medicine.
LaMeaux. “7 Health Benefits of Laughter.” Gaiam, www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/7-health-benefits-of-laughter.