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Human Emotions Part 5

human emotions

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Hannah Naluz
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24 views

Human Emotions Part 5

human emotions

Uploaded by

Hannah Naluz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Staying Current

Humor, laughter, learning, and health! A brief review

Brandon M. Savage, Heidi L. Lujan, Raghavendar R. Thipparthi, and Stephen E. DiCarlo

Published Online:05 JUL 2017https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00030.2017

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Abstract

Human emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and laughter, profoundly affect psychological
and physiological processes. These emotions form a set of basic, evolved functions that are shared by all
humans. Laughter is part of a universal language of basic emotions that all humans recognize. Health
care providers and educators may utilize the power of laughter to improve health and enhance teaching
and learning. This is an important consideration because teaching is not just about content: it is also
about forming relationships and strengthening human connections. In this context, when used
effectively, humor is documented to build relationships and enhance performance. Specifically, humor
improves student performance by attracting and sustaining attention, reducing anxiety, enhancing
participation, and increasing motivation. Moreover, humor stimulates multiple physiological systems
that decrease levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine, and increase the activation of
the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system. To achieve these benefits, it is important to use humor
that is relevant to the course content and not disparaging toward others. Self-effacing humor illustrates
to students that the teacher is comfortable making mistakes and sharing these experiences with the
classroom. In this brief review, we discuss the history and relationship between humor, laughing,
learning, and health with an emphasis on the powerful, universal language of laughter.

in 1964, norman cousins was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative disease causing the
breakdown of collagen. The disorder caused constant pain and suffering and was accompanied with a
poor prognosis of only a few months to live. Cousins served as an Adjunct Professor at University of
California–Los Angeles, where he conducted research on the biochemistry of human emotions, which he
long believed were the keys to success in resisting and fighting illness. He often expressed his belief that,
since negative emotions lead to negative physiology, then positive emotion, such as humor, can lead to
positive physiology. As examples, chronic stress persistently elevates levels of stress hormones,
including epinephrine and cortisol. Chronic stress also increases the susceptibility to blood clots.
Together, these physiological responses to stress increase the risk for cardiovascular and other diseases
(52). Importantly, the positive emotions of humor and laughter decrease the risk for stress-related
diseases (33).

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