Question

The nurse is teaching a novice nurse about the therapeutic effects of laughter. Which example correctly identifies one of these effects?

a. It activates the immune system.

b. It increases the level of epinephrine.

c. It decreases heart rate.

d. It causes shallow breathing.

it activates the immune system

A client has just been started on opioid analgesia for pain control. The nurse assesses the client's level of sedation using a sedation scale and notes that the client is awake and alert. The nurse would assign which rating?

a. S
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3

Answer 1

Laughter activates the immune system by reducing stress hormones and increasing immune cells, not by increasing epinephrine or causing shallow breathing. An alert and awake client on opioid analgesia would be rated as 'S' for sleep, easy to arouse on a sedation scale.

Step-by-step explanation:

The therapeutic effects of laughter, as it pertains to health and the immune system, include the activation of the body's immune response rather than an increase in the heart rate or epinephrine levels, or causing shallow breathing. Laughter has been linked to several positive physiological changes, including a boost in immunity.

The activation of the immune system is believed to occur due to the reduction in stress-related hormones and an increase in certain immune cells and antibodies. When it comes to opioid analgesia and sedation, an alert and awake client would be assigned a sedation rating of 'S', which stands for 'Sleep, easy to arouse', according to many sedation scales that range from S (sleep, easy to arouse) to 4 (coma, no response to physical or verbal stimuli).