When was the last time you laughed — really laughed? What happened? What did that small moment add to your life?
Is laughter important to you? Could you use a little more of it right now?
In “Do You Need More Laughter in Your Life?” Jancee Dunn writes about why humor is good for your health and how you can find more of it:
Not long ago, I went to my first Fungus Fest, a celebration of all things fungi hosted by the New Jersey Mycological Association. While I am not an avid mycophile, I spent a delightful afternoon seeing new things, among them mushroom-dyed yarn in various hues and a purse made of tinder fungus, which felt like suede.
I was following the advice of Chris Duffy, a comedian and the author of the new book “Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected and Happy.”
He has found that one way to bring more humor into your life is to say yes to anything unusual. “Humor and laughter often come from pushing yourself to have new experiences,” he said.
We often laugh the hardest, Duffy explained, when we’re surprised or we’re seeing something in a new light. Specialty festivals, he added, are fertile ground. “I would travel across the country for Fungus Fest,” said Duffy, who also hosts the podcast “How to Be a Better Human.”
He has attended events such as a Halloween costume contest for wiener dogs (“No, I do not have a wiener dog”) and a past-life regression festival (“As far as I was aware, this is the first life in which I’ve attended the festival”).
A number of studies suggest that laughter is good for your health: It lowers stress, alleviates anxiety and gives you energy to finish a task. It can also reduce inflammation and improve blood flow, said Dr. Michael Miller, a professor of cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania, who has researched laughter’s effects on the heart.
But it can be hard to find humor “in a world that often feels profoundly unfunny,” Duffy writes.
So I asked him to share ways to incorporate laughter and playfulness into your life.
Some of Mr. Duffy’s advice? Take a cue from 9-year-olds:
To unlock your playful, imaginative side, Duffy said, ask yourself: What would a 9-year-old do?
Duffy said: “If you’re making breakfast and you have pancakes and a banana, what is the 9-year-old going to do? They’re going to make a smiley face on their pancakes.” A 9-year-old taking a bath, he said, is “going to make sure it’s a giant bubble bath.”
And be on the alert for fresh material:
Comedians are constantly scanning their environments for nuggets of humor, Duffy said. That means looking up from your phone and paying close attention to anything that strikes you as a bit odd or surprising, he said.
Recently, Duffy spotted a CPR sign in a bagel store. “But instead of people in the illustrations, it was a container of scallion cream cheese trying to save an everything bagel’s life,” he said. “The cream cheese, honestly, seemed like it was resigned to witnessing a death.”
“The more you make a practice of looking for things that make you laugh, the more you’ll see,” he added.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
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Who or what can you always count on to make you laugh? Why?
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According to the article, laughter can have many benefits, including health benefits. What does it bring to your life?
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Mr. Duffy writes in his book that it can be hard to find humor “in a world that often feels profoundly unfunny.” Do you agree? How important do you think laughter is, even when things are difficult? Why?
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Tell us about a memory of laughing really, really hard. What happened? Who were you with? Why does this moment stick with you?
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Do you consider yourself a playful person? Do you think learning how to be more playful would be good for you? Why, or why not?
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Would you try any of Mr. Duffy’s suggestions? What advice do you have for others about adding more humor into their everyday?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Natalie Proulx is an editor at The Learning Network, a Times free teaching resource.
The post What Makes You Laugh? appeared first on New York Times.
