The Health Benefits of Humor
Laughter may not literally be the best medicine, but there's some good evidence that it can help your health.
Every week, The Takeaway checks in with The Science of Happiness, a new podcast from PRI and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. This week, we're looking at their "Three Funny Things" exercise.
The idea is simple: At the end of the day, write down three funny things that happened to you or that you saw, and then reflect on them. Dacher Keltner, host of the podcast, explains how this exercise can help your health.
Instructions:
TIME REQUIRED
10 minutes/day for at least one week.
HOW TO DO IT
For one week, take 10 minutes every day to complete the following:
- Write down the three funniest things you heard, saw, did, or experienced today. Think about the things you found really funny and describe how they made you feel.
- Also write down the reason why these things were funny. In other words, answer the question: "Why did this funny event happen?" It may be a bit tricky to think about the "why" of the funny things in your life, but it will become easier over the course of the week.
It is important to create a physical record of your items by writing them down; it is not enough simply to do this exercise in your head.
Here are some other tips you may find helpful for your writing:
- Give the event a title (e.g., “joked with my friend about parenting”).
- List any funny things you like: They can be relatively small in importance (e.g., “my partner made a silly face”) or relatively large (e.g., “I went to a comedy show”).
- Remember to write down exactly what happened in as much detail as possible, including what you did or said and, if others were involved, what they did or said.
- Use whatever writing style you please, and do not worry about perfect grammar and spelling.
- To make this exercise part of your daily routine, consider writing before bed.
