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By Dillon Charter used with permissionwritten for Empire State College, College Writing courseThe Health Benefits of Watching MoviesEver since the days of Charlie Chaplin and silent films movies have been a huge part of American entertainment. Over the years trips to the cinema were replaced by video rentals. Today, thanks to companies like Netflix, people can easily stream movies right at home. While it’s common knowledge that sitting around all day watching television is unhealthy, watching movies can actually have some unexpected health benefits. Individual styles of film, such as comedy, horror, romance, and even animated movies, specifically for children, can impact a person both psychologically and physically for the better. The idea that watching movies could have any positive effects on a person’s wellbeing may sound incredibly farfetched, but according to an article written by Danielle Braff for the Chicago Tribune, this is exactly the case for people that love comedies. The article states that for people who enjoy watching comedic films laughter is actually a form of medicine. Studies have shown that just by laughing[,] a person’s immune system is strengthened and stress hormones decreased. Dr. Michael Miller, the director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Preventive Cardiology, stated within the article that laughter can actually lower someone’s blood pressure to the same extent as doing exercise. He also mentioned that for the best results people should try watching a comedy that makes them laugh hard for at least 15 minutes. Within in the same article, Birgit Wolz, a psychologist focusing on movies as therapy, and the author of the book “E-motion Picture Magic,” stated that laughter during a comedy can reduce anxiety, fear, and aggression levels (Braff, Danielle). Sitting down to watch a comedy probably won’t take the place of 30 minutes on a treadmill each day, but it is certainly good to know that a funny film can improve someone’s health.While it may be easier to believe that comedies can help to promote good health, horror films would probably have people feeling a little more skeptical. Horror movies are generally created by people who love nothing more than scaring others right out of their skin. It’s very difficult to imagine that this hardcore style of film can actually shake you up in a very good way, but it can. In an article found on Time Magazine’s website, , Markham Heid writes about Hollywood’s most scare inducing pieces of cinema to prove that just because something’s scary doesn’t always mean it’s bad for you. The article mentions two different sets of experiments. One of the experiments, held in the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom, asked 10 different people to watch 10 different scary films as their heartrates were monitored, as well as their oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output. The results were fascinating. The people watching the scary films actually burned calories by being frightened. One volunteer burned 184 calories, which is around the same number of calories that a 140-pound adult would burn after a 40-minute walk. Another volunteer burned 160 calories, while another burned 158. What was found was that stressful stimulus, a horror film in this case, caused the volunteers’ bodies to release adrenaline. Adrenaline will rev up the fight or flight response. This gets the heart racing, drawing energy from the bodies fat reserves and burning calories. The other study took place at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. This study found that watching scary films actually helps the human body to increase white blood cells that fight disease, just as comedies do. One more bit of useful information within this article was what Margee Kerr, a sociologist and fear researcher, found out in her study. She states that a good scare can actually put a person in a better mood. After watching a frightening film, a person’s anxiety and stress levels may have dropped. She did mention that her research only included people who wanted to be scared. For those that don’t enjoy being frightened, horror movies may have no positive impact on their mood (Heid, Markham). So, for those who love a good scary movie, it’s actually beneficial to sit down and watch one once in a while. Romance movies, the favorite genre of Hugh Grant lovers, can have a very positive impact on a person as well. The same article written by Danielle Braff that mentions comedies, also mentions romance films. The article states that the effects these films seem to have are very similar to their comedy cousins. Romance films work wonders psychologically speaking. These movies are said to help a person deal with their outside issues. They work as a sort of escape measure, giving a person a few hours of relief from life. People may also be able to see themselves in the characters within the films. In romantic comedies, the mistakes these characters make are often forgiven in a fun way. This allows people to lighten up on themselves in comparison (Braff, Danielle). According to an article in , psychologists at the University of Buffalo suggested that watching the love infused flicks could actually make human beings better people. Matthew Gizzard, the leader of the team, suggested that watching these films increases sensitivity for four out of five moral intuitions. The article explains that moral intuitions are basic human emotions people feel, such as harm/care, fairness, loyalty, respect for authority, and purity. In order to prove this theory, the psychologists broke a group of 87 college students up into 4 categories. A quarter of the students watched only romantic comedies; another quarter of students watched only action films; the rest of the group watched a mix of action and romance movies. At the end of the study, the students that had watched only romantic themed films recorded having an increased sensitivity to four out of five moral intuitions on a 30-Item Moral Foundations Questionnaire. Purity was the only exception. The students that watched only action films, and mixes of both movie types, did not show the same high level of sensitivity. The article does mention that romantic themed movies can make people more na?ve in terms of love, and it is something to be careful of (Borreli, Lizette). Under the right circumstances, it’s easy to see that romance movies can certainly play their hand in making us happier and healthier people. Animated films, a group that is often overlooked, can have very positive impacts on a person, including children. An article on discusses a study published in the Journal of Communication. The study was conducted by a team from the School of Family Life at Bingham Young University in Provo, Utah. According to the group animated films, specifically Disney films, help children in developing pro social behavior and teach life lessons. Adults, however, can also benefit from sitting down to watch animated movies. In an article on , written by Elisabeth Sherman, she discusses how when she was depressed she would watch a cartoon created for children. She explains how the cartoon actually helped her to forget her troubles briefly. She also mentioned that her partner admitted to still watching Tom & Jerry cartoons when feeling depressed. Within the article Dr. Laurel Steinberg, a New York based psychotherapist, mentions that kids’ cartoons can be used as coping mechanisms for adults. They incorporate life themes, such as family, teamwork, and friendship, and they show that good conquers evil (Sherman, Elisabeth). These are all positive elements that can greatly help an individual psychologically. Movies are great sources of entertainment, but they’re so much more than that. Movies can promote better physical health by scaring the calories off of a person and lowering blood pressure. They can help people forget life issues for a while, fight depression, and even lower anxiety levels. Children can learn life lessons from movies. Movies bring friends and family together, which promotes positive interactions with each other. Sitting down to watch a film may just be the best medicine there is. A person would be hard pressed to find a drug that could do as much as a movie can without all the nasty side effects. Works Cited:Borreli, Lizette. “Psychological Effects Of Romantic Comedies: Watching Hugh Grant Love Movies May Lead To Self-Improvement, Says Study.”?Medical Daily, 12 Dec. 2016, psychological-effects-romantic-comedies-watching-hugh-grant-love-movies-may-406323.Braff, Danielle. “Special effects: Movies affect the brain and body.”?Tribunedigital-Chicagotribune, 22 June 2011, articles.2011-06-22/health/sc-health-0622-movies-impact-on-body-20110622_1_horror-films-intense-movies-birgit-wolz.Gaitano, Norberto Gonzalez, and Carolina Canales. “Can Disney cartoons make your child nicer? A new study suggests they can.”?MercatorNet, 20 Feb. 2014, articles/view/can_disney_cartoons_make_your_child_nicer.Heid, Markham. “You Asked: Is Watching Scary Movies Good for You?”?Time, Time, 4995896/scary-movies-burn-calories/.Sherman, Elisabeth. “Therapists Explain How Cartoons Affect Your Mental Health.”?Vice, 23 Mar. 2017, en_us/article/d7e9xa/therapists-explain-how-cartoons-affect-your-mental-health ................
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