Teeth whitening products on TV show people smiling. But the news currently flowing through mass media doesn’t stimulate much laughter. Daily doses of such messages increase our anxiety, worry and fear. True it is easy to come across a commentator reminding us to reduce our stress level. I get it…the mind/body connection is real. A balanced diet, exercise, and meditation plus adequate sleep, water and our amazing internal system functions well. What’s missing is that I don’t laugh very often.
I remember reading a cancer cure story on how laughter had a role in our immune system. Is humor healing? Science and modern medicine have much to tell us about body chemistry, pills, and supplements. No “silver bullets” to health there. These messages all lead in one direction…buy this product to cure your problem. My research convinced me that supplements in capsules go quickly into the urinal and rarely get absorbed in the blood stream…money down the drain.
Information bombards us with the health benefits of avocados, garlic and ginger. But I knew nothing about how humor affects our emotions and wellbeing. Where to start?
My best days begin over breakfast at a favorite outdoor cafe overlooking Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, fresh ocean breezes and loving families reminds me to treasure such moments. This particular day I observed each table. I saw two distinct situations were occurring. Let’s call one, group A. Regardless of age or gender these folks were obsessed with their Internet devices and not their partners. Very serious… letting the chaos and tragedy of world events flood their thoughts. Group B was connected to each other. They laughed at the dog walking along the seawall while the master kept pace on the ground. Giggled as the cyclist sped by singing aloud.
Smiled at the happy waiter who patiently explained the menu. No question who was enjoying their breakfast at the beach. My list of questions now came easily.
Why do we laugh? Do all humans react to humor? Is laughter an emotion? Does it affect our mind and body?
To answer the first two questions I referred back to a prior career lecturing on cultural anthropology. No societies, primitive or advanced, are without humor. What is funny varies significantly among different cultures. There appears to be a universal reaction that results in a smile or laugh…or some bodily response of the head or hands. Babies can laugh both while inhaling and exhaling. Adults laugh only through exhaling. Even our closest biological primate, the chimpanzee, exhibits similar traits…without the benefit of language. As we see or experience an event our mind combines it with meaning so we quickly understand and interpret it. It happens so fast and automatic that we can miss the message. Let’s consider some points on why humor is complex.
Slapstick acts are intentional while people accidentally falling into a pool is not. Both may appear humorous to us. We laugh with some comedians and dislike others. Freud wrote that humor reduces suffering and calms the ego. Stereotyped humor produces strong emotional reactions such as happily laughing at oneself or angrily dismissing a negative interpretation. Political correctness is a cultural phenomenon that evolves and likely always existed in societies. We are dependent on words to convey our thoughts and feelings. Words, however, are easily misunderstood and varied cultures respond to humor very differently.
Some words always seem funny to me. They conjure up an immediate vision of something out of whack…improbable. One study proposed that “nonsense words” were humorous if they seemed rude or where the letters in the word didn’t fit together. This can be funny or not. Dr. Seuss coined: yekko, zatz-it, wumbus, nerd, kweet, and skritz. Brilliant humor!
Professor Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire, U.K. did a study of English speakers to test whether words with a “k” sound were funnier than others. The funniest joke was:
Two ducks were sitting in a pond. One of the ducks said: “Quack”.
The other duck said: “I was going to say that!”
That joke had the most k sounds. This tracks with those popular comedians using the f_ _ k word throughout their routines.
A 2015 study in The Journal of Memory and Language determined that the funniest nonsense words could be explained through the concept of entropy. This concept describes degrees of disorder. Like letters out of place in a word. If there is a struggle between order and disorder, we can conclude that disorder wins until something new is created or a re-balancing occurs. Canadian university researcher Chris Webster wrote, “One reason puns are funny is that they violate our expectation that a word has one meaning”. Violating expectations, he proposed, with weird letter combinations gets particularly funny reactions.
Now we know why comedians from different countries have a hard time bringing their word based humor to a different culture. Humor perception is strongly influenced by our culture. Not all types of humor are nice to hear. It may be demeaning or aggressive. Geographically apart East-West traditions show very different peoples reactions to what is funny to them. All politics are said to be local…perhaps humor is too.
There is good news in research from Wharton, MIT and London Business School. They’ve demonstrated there are positive effects from humor. Studies identified benefits such as reduced stress and boredom, increased creativity and intimacy. The highly respected Mayo Clinic explains the physical effect on the body: “It enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, boosts the brain’s release of endorphins and stimulates circulation and helps muscle relaxation”.
The daily news reminds us that negotiations between different cultures are difficult and often words are misunderstood. Trying to lighten a conversation for example, between an English speaker and their Chinese guest shouldn’t be done with humor. Within China itself, language and beliefs vary dramatically. Chinese attitudes more often feel humor is beneath one’s stature. In general, it is not considered a positive personal attribute. I can imagine great differences in reactions to humor must exist between north-south and east-west citizens residing in the United States. Humor may be universal but few commonalities seem to exist. Even slapstick routines arouse very different feelings among viewers. Funny or violent?
If you have gone with me this far it is fair to share what I do to enjoy more humor…practicing an attitude/activity adjustment.
* Eat desserts with your funniest friends…15 minutes of laughter burns 50 calories.
* Go to events where lots of people are laughing…laughter is contagious.
* Try to locate on TV or YouTube the rare live shows where audiences are provoked to laughter. Even canned laughter helps.
* Look Around to See Humor in people, situations, nutty events that happen with a happy filter…observing more works!
* Take breaks to play…I love coloring books using Sharpies. Try making your own sushi rolls and laugh at the funny shapes
* Listen to some of the humorous podcasts now available
* Keep a writing pad handy and jot down funny experiences
* Most of all: Simply look forward to something funny…it’s there
The field of positive psychology includes humor as an important element to experiencing meaning in our life. Former President Jimmy Carter was to speak at a Japanese school. It is reported he opened his remarks with a joke. The interpreter quickly re-told Carter’s joke. The audience all broke up laughing. Later, Carter congratulated his interpreter who revealed that he had told the audience “President Carter told a funny story. Everyone must laugh.”
