Humor and Laughter may Influence Health. I. History and Background
Mary Payne Bennett1 and Cecile A. Lengacher2
1Indiana State University, College of Nursing, IN, USA
2University of South Florida, College of Nursing, FL, USA
Received 30 March 2005
The Experience of Laughter: A Phenomenological Study
Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, RN; PhD; FAAN
Hunter College, City University of New York, NY
Hassed C
Department of Community Medicine and General Practice, Monash University, Victoria.
Australian Family Physician [2001, 30(1):25-28]
BACKGROUND: The beneficial effect of humour on health has long been recognised anecdotally and intuitively but studying and quantifying that effect is difficult. 'Studying humour is like dissecting a frog--you may know a lot but you end up with a dead frog.' (Mark Twain)
OBJECTIVE: To describe some of the psychological and physiological effects of laughter and the health benefits of humour.
PURPOSE. This study examined the phenomenon and meaning of laughing at oneself as described by the lived experiences of student nurses. BACKGROUND. Studies in older populations revealed that maturity and experience, not necessarily age, made a difference in the ability to laugh at oneself, but little research has been conducted on nursing students and the ability to laugh at oneself. A descriptive, exploratory, qualitative design and phenomenological method was used. Face-to-face interviews with nine female nursing students were recorded and transcribed.
Adamle, K., Ludwick, R., Zeller, R., & Winchell, J. (2009). Oncology nurses' responses to patient-initiated humor (PIH). Cancer Nursing: An International Journal for Cancer Care. 31(6), E1.
