The final article of a four-part series written by Mary Payne Bennett and Cecile Lengacher sheds light on the possible benefits of humor in various health outcomes, and gives information on research related to the new field of "laughter medicine." Upon studying Cardiovascular patients in Japan, an author stated the following: "A positive correlation was noted between NK cell activity and scores on both the extraversion scale and a sense of humor scale [...] the results indicate an association between general positive feelings and higher levels of NK cell activity." This information shows that, when exposed to humorous or positive activities, there is a chance that the patient's NK cell activity will increase, which will have a positive impact on immune systems and have benefits including prevention of the spread of cancer and destruction of cancerous cells. This information, although in very early stages, can show us how laughter may have a positive effect on our immune systems, and can benefit us in our day to day lives.
When I read this article my first thought was this: this is a long paper with a lot of complicated terms. But as I started to dig into the paper, I realized that aside from terms like SIgA, NK, and Cytotoxicity, the core of this paper was very informational. When I began thinking about the ideas and research expressed in this article, it made me begin to wonder how this information could affect my life and the life of those around me. As I stated in the beginning of this entry, many people (myself included), take laughing for granted. But after reading this article, I saw that there are many benefits of laughter that I'm sure most of us aren't aware of. So although I still have no idea what SIgA is, and I would have to dive deep into the depths of a dictionary to define Cytotoxicity, laughter is something we can all share, and whether we know the health benefits of humor or not, spreading positivity and joy is something that makes everyone feel better.
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