The following questions were created to be thought provoking:
( you do not have to answer them all but they may aid you in your responses/reflections)
1) What were some of the AHA's that you encountered? (if any)
2) How can you utilize this information in your own personal life?
3) How can this information make you a more effective teacher/counselor/parent?
**Click on comments to read and leave
your personal ideas**
4 comments:
Fun and the Immune System
Some of the AHA's I encountered:
1. Based on a study conducted by Arthur Stone, elevated levels of antibodies were found in men folling events where they had fun. Their antibodies level stayed high for two days after enjoying such activities. These events were as simple as spending time with friends and playing with their children. In other words having fun is good for us.
2. Although we know that having fun is a good thing, we feel guilty or irresponsible if we are having too much of it.
The author is not saying that you should ignore your responsibilities as an adult, in order to stay healthy you should plan something fun often.
I know I have to do fun things more often, but I do not seem to get around it as much as I would like it.
As a teacher, I need to relax more and incorporate humor regularly. It will be good for my students and for myself.
I enjoyed reading this article, it makes me think about how simple things in life can boost your health.
Lighten Up A Chuckle a Day
AHA's:
1. People without a sense of humor and/or cranky can learn to fix that. One way to do this is by placing a picture that makes you smile or laugh in plain view. This could be a family photo or a funny cartoon.
2. You have to realize that humor is subjective. Find out something that is funny to you and expose yourself to it. It could be a funny movie, a funny show, etc. I particularly enjoy watching the movie It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It makes me laugh every time I watch it.
3. Engage in an activity where everybody in the group is bad at and have a good laugh.
4. In the Old Testament, Proverbs 17:22 says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (NIV)
Again we can see that laughter can do you good. A lot of people like to bring photos to their place of work. I did that when I worked as a teacher. I think that having the picture of a funny cartoon is also a good idea, in addition to your family pictures.
Two quotes about laughter:
"Nothing shows a man's character more that what he laughs at."
"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live."
1) What were some of the AHA's that you encountered? (if any)
Fun and the Immune System
1. Dr. Arthur Stone conducted a study whereby he found that antibody levels for men who had fun were increased in the days after their recreation.
Lighten Up: A Chuckle a Day
1a. The AHA conducted a study that said those adults who are "heart-healthy" tend to laugh more and use humor to diffuse serious situations. Further, those adults who have been treated for heart illness were more likely to react in anger to stressful situations.
b. Stress hormones like cortisol are reduced by laughing, and blood pressure decreases.
c. In 1979 Norman Cousins claimed to have managed his ankylosing spondylitis by watching funny videos.
d. Dr. Lee Berk of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine claims that laughter might even boost the immune system.
e. Dr. Berk also found that cardiac patients who watched funny videos were far less likely to suffer repeat heart attacks.
2) How can you utilize this information in your own personal life?
Certainly most of us want to live longer and the health benefits of laughter add a dimension of fun to health, where we might otherwise associate pain, i.e. exercise, diet. Both of the latter are restrictions, so it makes sense that we would not associate fun and laughter with good health. For me this is just motivation to not feel guilty on my down time. And of course, my greatest joy in life is playing with my sweet daughter, who definitely makes me laugh regularly.
3) How can this information make you a more effective teacher/counselor/parent?
As said, it justifies-- to my work ethic-- how often I play with my daughter. It also encourages me to diffuse situations, create a classroom environment devoid of tension. This can be done with humor in the face of defiance or sarcasm from difficult students. As Abraham Lincoln said to an angry unionist who found him too lenient on Southerners,
"Madam, do I no destroy my enemy when I make him my friend?"
I think my login problems have finally worked themselves out... We'll see if it stays worked out.--Francis
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