Discover how laughter therapy can quickly boost your mood, reduce stress, and improve your health—no jokes required. It’s a simple, science-backed technique you can try today for a happier, healthier you.

Breathing is a wonderful way to decrease stress and build resilience. As such, I begin all of my coaching sessions with a brief breathing practice and am always looking for new techniques to introduce to my coaching clients. Recently I came across laughter therapy. It can be an effective way to temporarily change your breathing pattern and can have lasting effects on your stress levels.

Understanding Laughter Therapy

Twenty years ago, my boss told me he stood in front of the mirror and laughed for a few minutes each morning. It sounded strange to me at the time, but now I realize he was on to something. This method leverages the natural physiological and psychological benefits of laughter for alleviating stress and enhancing overall well-being.​

Laughter therapy involves intentional exercises designed to induce laughter, often without relying on humor or comedy. A prominent form of this therapy is laughter yoga, developed by Dr. Madan Kataria in 1995.

Laughter yoga combines voluntary laughter with yogic breathing techniques, incorporating activities such as gentle stretching, clapping, chanting, and playful movements to stimulate laughter. The premise is that the body cannot distinguish between genuine and simulated laughter; both produce similar beneficial effects.

Evidence-Based Benefits of Laughter Therapy

Research has demonstrated several health benefits associated with laughter therapy:​ [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

  • Reduce Stress and Anxiety: Laughter therapy has been shown to significantly lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine, decreasing our bodies’ stress response and inflammation.
  • Boost Mood and Combat Depression: Laughing increases endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, our “feel good” neurotransmitters.
  • Improve Coping Mechanisms: Laughter can help depressed individuals through cognitive reframing, enhanced coping mechanisms, and mood regulation.
  • Enhance Relationships: When people engage in laughter therapy, it can strengthen social bonds, decrease social isolation, and encourage a positive social environment. 
  • Increase Pain Tolerance: After laughter, pain thresholds are significantly higher, possibly due to the release of endorphins.
  • Improve Sleep: Laughter therapy has been linked with better sleep outcomes in long term care facilities.
  • Enhance Cardiovascular Health: Regular laughter can lead to reductions in blood pressure and improvements in overall cardiovascular health.

How to Use Laughter Therapy

Integrating laughter therapy into daily life can be both easy and fun. Here are a few steps to practice on your own:

  • Begin with Deep Breathing: Start by taking deep breaths to relax and prepare your body for laughter exercises.
  • Incorporate Playful Laughter Sounds: As you exhale, repeat the word “ho” until you run out of breath. On your next exhale use the word “ha.” Repeat with the word “hee.”
  • Engage in Clapping and Chanting: Use the playful affirmation “very good (with a clap), very good (with another clap), yay! (while throwing your hands up you’re your head”

If you prefer a guided practice, this five-minute demonstration provided by Mayo Clinic is perfect. Seriously, try not to laugh while watching this!

By embracing laughter therapy, you can tap into a natural and effective method for managing stress, improving mood, and enhancing overall health. Remember, the goal is to engage in the physical act of laughing, allowing your body and mind to reap the rewards.

Small Changes, Big Transformation

Laughter therapy is one small change we can make to prioritize our health and build resilience. Wellness doesn’t have to feel so overwhelming. Give this practice a try this week and let me know how it goes!

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[1] Berk, L. S., Tan, S. A., Fry, W. F., Napier, B. J., Lee, J. W., Hubbard, R. W., … & Eby, W. C. (1989). Neuroendocrine and stress hormone changes during mirthful laughter. The American journal of the medical sciences, 298(6), 390-396.

[2] Pannu, A., Goyal, R. K., & Kumari, P. (2024). An Evidence-Based Comprehensive Review of Laughter Therapy in Depression Management. Current Psychiatry Research and Reviews.

[3] Dunbar, R. I., Baron, R., Frangou, A., Pearce, E., Van Leeuwen, E. J., Stow, J., … & Van Vugt, M. (2012). Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1731), 1161-1167.

[4] Han, J. H., Park, K. M., & Park, H. (2017). Effects of laughter therapy on depression and sleep among patients at long-term care hospitals. Korean Journal of Adult Nursing, 29(5), 560-568.

[5] Hayashi K, Kawachi I, Ohira T, Kondo K, Shirai K, Kondo N. Laughter is the Best Medicine? A Cross-Sectional Study of Cardiovascular Disease Among Older Japanese Adults. J Epidemiol. 2016 Oct 5;26(10):546-552. doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20150196. Epub 2016 Mar 12. PMID: 26972732; PMCID: PMC5037252.