Most people have heard the old adage, ‘laughter is the best medicine’.  But could you truly enjoy a good laugh if it was at your own expense?  Many of us think we could and want to but do we really have the sense of humor that allows us laugh at ourselves?

Ursula Beermann, from the University of California Berkeley, and Willibald Ruch, from the University of Zurich,  studied 70 psychology students and gauged their ability to laugh at themselves.

However, this study was not all fun and games.  Research has linked optimism and laughter to improved health.  Understanding humor can be very important in one’s health and could shed light on conditions such as autism where the social skills required in recognizing jokes and the nuances used in certain jokes are lacking.

According to TIME Healthland, the study found that an individual’s ability to laugh at themselves had no bearing on how often they could laugh in response to the silly images of others. This implies that the ability to laugh at oneself is linked with our individual mood and personality.

Research Digest reports that Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System was used to decode the participant’s facial expressions looking for signs of true Duchenne smiles, which are symmetrical and involve creasing of the eye muscles.

80% of the participants flashed a genuine smile, but it was those that claimed to be able to laugh at themselves, and whose friends agreed with that statement, who displayed more frequent and intense smiling and laughter in response to silly images of themselves.

Therefore, being able to laugh at yourself is a distinct trait and linked to an upbeat personality.  Participants who were able to laugh at themselves were more cheerful and less serious overall.

What are your thoughts on this study?

Can a good sense of humor be learned or is it completely inherent?

Many women may find that having a good cry makes them feel better.  The occasional cry even seems cathartic.  However, this does not seem to be the case, as TIME HEALTHLAND reports.

Recent research has shed some light on the subject of “releasing it all” in a good cry. The study found that for two-thirds of its female participants shedding tears had no effect on their moods.

Jonathan Rottenberg head author of the study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, states, “Crying is not nearly as beneficial as people think it is.  Only a minority of crying episodes were associated with mood improvement.”

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel ladies.  If you think that a good cry will make you feel better then by all means go for it.  Research has proven that it won’t make you feel worse and if your mind tells your body that you are releasing stress, frustration, or sadness, then you might have reached the Holy Grail.  Using your mind to make your body feel better!

We recently posted a blog that suggested people who can’t cry have trouble expressing their emotions, which can lead to further frustration, anger, or sadness due to a lack of being understood by others.  In this case crying does seem to have a beneficial quality for humans.

Although, this study revealed that crying did not help a woman’s mood, it was also reported that crying did not make them feel worse either.  30 percent of the participants reported feeling better after a cry opposed to the 9 percent that reported feeling more sad after they cried.

Crying can make you feel better but it can also turn off the opposite sex.  In a past blog research revealed that women’s tears turn men off.  So, in essence it is a double edged sword; crying may make you feel better but it can have the opposite effect on others.

What do you make of all this “crying” research?  Is it good, bad or do you feel  indifferent to it?

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A good cry doesn’t make you feel any better, study says (bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com)