Ha Ha Very Funny
September 4, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Laughter is the best and possibly the oldest medicine, as recently noted on BrainBlogger:
Laughter is a naturally occurring response to humorous stimuli and is a rather easily implemented and cost-effective clinical tool. Some lay publications even report that laughter is equivalent to aerobic exercise. It is true that laughter can increase blood flow, stimulate circulation, contract muscle groups, and improve respiratory function. But, these effects are short-lived and laughter is followed by a period of muscle relaxation, decreased heart rate, slowed respiration, and decreased blood pressure. This period may last as long as 45 minutes. Some research has shown laughter causes a decrease in the levels of the stress hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol. This may explain the relationship between laughter and increased immune function, which leads to overall health benefits. Scientific data supporting the extent and actual benefit of laughter is lacking, however, and some studies have yielded conflicting results.
Impasse at an IEP meeting—-an elaborate mess of all messes across the kitchen floor, the hall carpet, and nearing the bathroom—-crazy moment in line at the grocery store: Laughter soothes, and salves. (And for a laugh, go to BrainBlogger for two the world’s oldest jokes.)
When people ask me, with much gravity in their voices…on how I “cope” with a child on the spectrum…I like to ask them “Which would you rather do? Laugh over it or cry?” Me…I’ll pick laughter almost everytime.
Comedy over tragedy, yes!
and then there is that 2 minutes locked in the bathroom that can fix almost anything and make it possible to laugh
Okay, here’s a laugh for ASD parents:
My son got in trouble in school for saying “Jesus Christ” (after hearing a classmate say it, of course). At home, we tried to explain to him why he shouldn’t say that at school. He’s never been to church, so we explained how people who go to christian churches consider that blasphemy, although it is okay to talk about Jesus when you are in church. So my son thought about it for a while, then said: “So is it okay to say sh*t in church?”
I have that one beat- After one of my fourth grade student used the term “Jesus Christ” another one exclaimed “don’t use his name in vain, he was the best president we ever had!”