The Amazing Health and Learning Benefits of Humor

People usually associate humor and laughter with entertainment. Many see comedy as a fun diversion that's completely separate from work or education. However, the reality is that laughter helps people stay in good health and accomplish practical tasks. Humor can also make education more approachable and interesting. Students learn more when they can laugh and have fun in the process.

Medical Benefits

The greatest health bonus of laughter is that it reduces stress by relaxing your mind and muscles. This boosts your immune system and improves blood circulation. You might not get sick as often if you laugh every day. Fewer stressful thoughts help people avoid anxiety and depression as well. When you're happier, you become more likely to keep laughing and feeling even better.

 


Humor has several other lesser-known health benefits. For example, it helps the brain produce more endorphins. This reduces pain and improves your mental state. It also has the ability to limit muscle spasms, according to the Mayo Clinic. Laughter helps some people sleep better and regulate their blood-sugar levels.
Levity even has the potential to help us lose weight. A researcher at Vanderbilt University found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes will burn about 50 calories, according to WebMD. This happens because laughter raises your heart rate. However, no one recommends that you give up jogging to watch reruns of "Cheers"; one serving of chocolate pudding is equivalent to about 32-48 minutes of constant laughter!

Learning Benefits

Various studies indicate that humor also makes education more effective. Instructors can tell jokes, recite amusing stories and arrange skits that relate to the subject matter. This works just as well in middle school as it does in classes for adults, such as comedy traffic school and comedy defensive driving courses.
Informational TV and radio show hosts often use humor to make their programs more interesting. For instance, many listeners prefer an amusing car advice show to other programs that merely dispense dry automotive tips. The American Psychological Association reports that relevant comedy enhances education by motivating learners and relieving the anxiety that people associate with complex subjects.



 Comedy traffic school is a great example of educators combining learning and laughter. The instructors incorporate amusing driving and car jokes into every topic. They take classes that people once considered a punishment and turn them into a fun and memorable experience. Online reviews of comedy defensive driving courses report that they are genuinely interesting and make the time pass quickly. These classes even come with free comedy club tickets.

A Spooky Halloween Evening

It was a late October night. Rob and Molly were driving down a dark road on their way home from a Halloween celebration at their friends' house in the desolate rural countryside. Normally a beautiful drive during the daylight, nighttime proved to be a bit scarier...

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Uncanny Ways Cars Are Like Humans...or Vice-Versa

Have you ever noticed how much the front of an automobile has the elements of a human face? The headlights, the front grill, and hood all add to the facial similarities. On some vehicles the side mirrors can even look like ears. The next time you are on the road, take a look. Some cars look friendly, some look angry and some appear to be aggressive. Some actually look smart, while others look a little dim. I don’t know if it is done by design or not but it can sometimes be uncanny, and maybe even a bit unnerving. Some car owners go so far as to name their vehicles. If that seems crazy, I can’t tell you the number of times I whispered “Come on baby” as I turned the ignition key on a cold morning. Thank goodness there were no cameras around.It got me to thinking about other similarities between vehicles and humans. There are more than you may think! Take a look:

• There are times when we both need to back-up to be able to move forward.
• We both need to have our batteries recharged once in a while.
• Some of us need a good scrubbing.
• We both have belts that sometimes need tightening.
• Some can be fast while others can be, well, a little slow.
• We both have the ability to just cruise along if we choose.
• We both experience the occasional bumps in the road.
• We both can have squeaky wheels that get attention.
• Some certainly stay in better shape than others
• There are days when it can be tough to get started.
• Some of us have really nice bodies while others are a little rusty.
• We can both get on a roll but sometimes it’s smarter to put on the brakes.
• While both of us have back seats, some have ones that are more ample than others.
• Neither of us can operate very well on an empty tank, and sometimes we both get gas.
• The older we get the less likely we are able to run well.
• We both can get jacked up.
• Some of both of them smoke, but when they do, they are likely to have problems.
• Some are loud just to gain attention.
• We can both have short fuses.

The next time you walk through a parking lot, think about the things we have in common with our mechanical friends. We each have our own quirks, personalities and style. The question is, how much does your car reflect you? Anytime someone doesn’t practice defensive driving or speeds too fast, gets a ticket and has pay the price both in fines and sitting at the computer taking online traffic school, it has nothing in common with the vehicle in which the person was driving.  All driving errors are behavioral and can and should be controlled by the driver.

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