Give your body a boost with laughter?   

Can watching sitcoms increase your health? If so, are stress and illness related? What is the mind/body connection with respect to laughter?

Can SITCOMS REALLY CURE YOU????? Research for 25-30 years Began with Anatomy of an Illness (memoir) by Dr. Norman Cousins (1979) Painful spinal condition Watched sitcoms 10 min laughter=2 hours pain-free sleep Can SITCOMS REALLY CURE YOU?????

How many CALORIES HAVE YOU BURNED SO FAR TODAY? Research shows Those who get heart attacks are 40% less likely to laugh than those with health hearts!(University of Maryland, Preventive Cardiology) When we laugh: Stretch muscles Pulse goes up Breath faster It’s a mild workout! Vanderbilt University research demonstrates that 10-15 min of laughter burns 50 calories! How many CALORIES HAVE YOU BURNED SO FAR TODAY?

Research shows benefit of laughter in the classroom Stimulates both sides of the brain Reduces tension Increases motivation Increases participation (American Psychological Association)

“Laughter: Humor in the Classroom. Fastback 241” Additional Research Soothes difficult moments Liberates creativity Helps with cross-cultural understanding “Laughter: Humor in the Classroom. Fastback 241” by Claudia E. Cornett (1986)

Stress causes some illnesses: Job change Death Baby Moving Body reacts—neck pain, back pain, headaches, trouble sleeping? (familydoctor.org) Does that mean laughter would help?

On the other hand… Research on attitude and health, esp. laughter—not definitive Difficult to be positive with terrible diagnosis Danger of feeling you didn’t do positive so you’re not getting better—guilt Danger of others blame if you don’t get better.

From the Mayo Clinic (well-known for superb cancer treatments) Myth: A positive attitude is all you need to beat cancer. Truth: There's no scientific proof that a positive attitude gives you an advantage in cancer treatment or improves your chance of being cured.

Myth: Good people don't get cancer. Fact: In ancient times illness was often viewed as punishment for bad actions or thoughts. In some cultures that view is still held. If this were true, though, how would you explain the 6-month-old or the newborn who gets cancer? These little ones haven't been bad. There's absolutely no evidence that you get cancer because you deserve it.

An interview with Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, the Columbia University oncologist and author of the 2011 Pulitzer-Prize winning "biography" of cancer, "The Emperor of All Maladies,“ "It’s not true," Mukherjee told Guardian reporter Decca Aitkenhead, that individuals develop — or die — of cancer because they have a negative mental attitude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eB3ISAYE-I (Laughter and Yoga)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Do you think that laughter can cure or help illness and/or pain? Why or why not? Give examples. Does your culture support the idea that laughter benefits health? Do you believe that attitude affects health, in general?

discussion questions (cont) 4 discussion questions (cont) 4. Is laughter important to you in a relationship (with friends, boyfriend/girlfriend)? Explain. 5. Can you understand humor in English very well? 6. What is your opinion about laughter in the classroom?