The saying, laugh and the world laughs with you describes the concept of emotional

When it comes to relieving stress, more giggles and guffaws are just what the doctor ordered. Here's why.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Whether you're guffawing at a sitcom on TV or quietly giggling at a newspaper cartoon, laughing does you good. Laughter is a great form of stress relief, and that's no joke.

Stress relief from laughter

A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do.

Short-term benefits

A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

  • Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
  • Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
  • Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects

Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long term. Laughter may:

  • Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
  • Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
  • Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.
  • Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your stress, depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier. It can also improve your self-esteem.

Improve your sense of humor

Are you afraid that you have an underdeveloped — or nonexistent — sense of humor? No problem. Humor can be learned. In fact, developing or refining your sense of humor may be easier than you think.

  • Put humor on your horizon. Find a few simple items, such as photos, greeting cards or comic strips, that make you chuckle. Then hang them up at home or in your office, or collect them in a file or notebook. Keep funny movies, TV shows, books, magazines or comedy videos on hand for when you need an added humor boost. Look online at joke websites or silly videos. Listen to humorous podcasts. Go to a comedy club.
  • Laugh and the world laughs with you. Find a way to laugh about your own situations and watch your stress begin to fade away. Even if it feels forced at first, practice laughing. It does your body good.

    Consider trying laughter yoga. In laughter yoga, people practice laughter as a group. Laughter is forced at first, but it can soon turn into spontaneous laughter.

  • Share a laugh. Make it a habit to spend time with friends who make you laugh. And then return the favor by sharing funny stories or jokes with those around you.
  • Knock, knock. Browse through your local bookstore or library's selection of joke books and add a few jokes to your list that you can share with friends.
  • Know what isn't funny. Don't laugh at the expense of others. Some forms of humor aren't appropriate. Use your best judgment to discern a good joke from a bad or hurtful one.

Laughter is the best medicine

Go ahead and give it a try. Turn the corners of your mouth up into a smile and then give a laugh, even if it feels a little forced. Once you've had your chuckle, take stock of how you're feeling. Are your muscles a little less tense? Do you feel more relaxed or buoyant? That's the natural wonder of laughing at work.

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July 29, 2021

  1. Lower stress: How does it affect the body? American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/lower-stress-how-does-stress-affect-the-body. Accessed March 30, 2021.
  2. Create joy and satisfaction. Mental Health America. http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/create-joy-and-satisfaction. Accessed March 30, 2021.
  3. Savage BM, et al. Humor, laughter, learning, and health! A brief review. Advances in Physiology Education. 2017; doi:10.1152/advan.00030.2017.
  4. Yim J. Therapeutic benefits of laughter in mental health: A theoretical review. The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2019; doi:10.1620/tjem.239.243.
  5. Lopes-Junior LC, et al. Effectiveness of hospital clowns for symptom management in paediatrics: Systematic review of randomized and non-randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 2020; doi:10.1136/bmj.m4290.
  6. Seaward BL. Comic relief: The healing power of humor. In: Essentials of Managing Stress. 5th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
  7. Van der Wal CN, et al. Laughter-inducing therapies: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine. 2019; doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.02.018.

See more In-depth

See also

  1. 5 ways to bring play back into your life
  2. A Very Happy Brain
  3. Adapt to put stress in its place
  4. Are your holidays a dietary free-for-all?
  5. Being assertive
  6. Bridge pose
  7. Caregiver stress
  8. Cat/cow pose
  9. Chase away the winter blues
  10. Child's pose
  11. Cobra
  12. Coping with job stress
  13. COVID-19 and your mental health
  14. Does stress make rheumatoid arthritis worse?
  15. Downward-facing dog
  16. Dreading a family holiday gathering?
  17. Ease stress to reduce eczema symptoms
  18. Ease stress to reduce your psoriasis flares
  19. Feeling overwhelmed? Take a break
  20. Forgiveness
  21. Have you had a good laugh today?
  22. Holidays don't have to break the bank
  23. How decluttering your space could make you healthier and happier
  24. Job burnout
  25. Job satisfaction
  26. Laugh more, stress less
  27. Learn to reduce stress through mindful living
  28. Learn to say no and enjoy the holidays
  29. Manage stress through problem-solving
  30. Manage stress to improve psoriatic arthritis symptoms
  31. Mountain pose
  32. Need better work-life balance?
  33. New School Anxiety
  34. Perfect holiday? Forget about it!
  35. Positive thinking
  36. Resilience
  37. Say no, to say yes to less stress
  38. Seated spinal twist
  39. Slide show: Yoga poses
  40. Standing forward bend
  41. Stress and high blood pressure
  42. Holiday stress
  43. Prevent stress setbacks
  44. Stress relievers
  45. Stressed out? Skip the late show
  46. Stressed? Set yourself up for success
  47. Support groups
  48. The power of positive thinking
  49. Warrior 1
  50. What is reflexology?

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Which of the following is the best description of emotional labor?

Emotional labor is displaying emotions because your job requires you to do​ so; emotional dissonance is the tension between your displayed and felt emotions.

Which method of assessing employees job satisfaction is thought to be the most accurate and effective?

Survey. The most accurate method of assessing employee satisfaction is a well-constructed employee satisfaction survey. Employees provide a rating against a series of questions or statements related to their job, supervision and the work environment.

Which of the following workplace satisfaction facets are measured by the Job Descriptive Index?

The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) is a specifically cognitive job satisfaction measure. It measures one's satisfaction in five facets: pay, promotions and promotion opportunities, coworkers, supervision, and the work itself.

What Jessica values most about her job?

What Jessica values most about her job at the humane shelter is that she believes she makes a difference every single day in the lives of the homeless animals in the community.