Scientists have confirmed: laughter can indeed be a cure
Researchers from the University of Jaen (Spain) have found that laughter therapy can significantly reduce anxiety levels and increase life satisfaction in adults.
The results were published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
Laughter therapy (humor therapy, gelototherapy) is the use of humorous techniques, therapeutic humour by various specialists, aimed at improving the client's understanding of himself, his behaviour and mood.
The method of laughter therapy creates with the help of humour a positive state of mind, helps a person to see and discover various absurdities of life and life situations, which normalises well-being (physical and emotional), directs to a higher level of problem solving, increases cognitive potential, and enriches spiritually
Three directions of laughter therapy are distinguished:
- classical (funny stories, anecdotes, humorous films, books)
- laughter therapy as one of the techniques as part of an independent method-school (for example, the technique of paradoxical intension) or as an author's technique (for example, such techniques as breathing exercises in the form of reflexive laughter, tickling, laughter meditation, mimicry exercises with artificial stretching of lips into a smile, exercises to develop creativity are used)
- hospital clowning.
In The Role of Laughter Therapy in Adults: Life Satisfaction and Anxiety Control. A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis, the authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to assess the effects of laughter therapy on two key measures of psychological well-being: life satisfaction and anxiety management.
The analysis included 33 clinical trials conducted between 1991 and 2024, involving 2,159 adults (about 74% women) in medical and social settings.
To compare data from different scales, the scientists used a standardised difference in mean (SMD), where 0.2 is considered a small effect, 0.5 a moderate effect, and 0.8 and above a large effect.
The results showed a significant effect: for reducing anxiety the SMD was -0.83 (large effect) and for increasing life satisfaction it was 0.98 (also large effect).
Separate subgroup analyses revealed that laughter yoga had an even more pronounced effect: decreasing anxiety - SMD = -1.02, increasing life satisfaction - SMD = 1.28.
Comparison with control groups showed that in the absence of any intervention, laughter therapy reduced anxiety by SMD = -1.02, and when compared with usual care, by SMD = -0.51. For life satisfaction, these values were SMD = 1.53 and SMD = 0.19, respectively.
Interestingly, online laughter therapy formats had little or no effect on anxiety levels (SMD = -0.03), which may indicate the importance of live social interaction in this process.
The authors concluded that laughter therapy can be a useful tool in combating anxiety and improving quality of life, but recommend further randomised trials to strengthen the evidence base and wider adoption of such practices.