Laughter and Mental Health: Can Laughing Really Help with Anxiety and Depression?

Laughter and mental health share a relationship that extends past momentary mood lifts.

Research demonstrates that people who rarely laugh face a substantially higher depression risk of depression. A six-year study tracking older adults found that those who never or rarely laughed showed 49% higher depression incidence compared to daily laughers. The association held even after adjusting for pre-existing depressive symptoms.

As someone living with depression following significant life changes, I’ve witnessed this pattern firsthand. My Garmin watch tracks stress readings throughout the day. On challenging days when those readings climb high, I’ve discovered something unexpected. Walking through the forest and allowing myself to laugh at absurd thoughts helps. Watching television and laughing at stupid things reduces my stress readings measurably within hours.

The mechanism isn’t mysterious when you examine the evidence.

Meta-analyses examining randomised controlled trials confirm that structured laughter interventions reduce depressive symptoms significantly. These aren’t marginal improvements. Participants report measurable increases in well-being, reductions in anxiety, and improvements in sleep quality following laughter programmes.

Depression and anxiety represent leading disability causes worldwide. Prevalence sits at 3,153 depression cases and 4,802 anxiety cases per 100,000 persons based on 2021 data. The COVID-19 pandemic further amplified these figures. Younger populations show increasing rates, yet many receive inadequate treatment.

Psychiatric medications often carry severe side effects and high costs. This makes them unsuitable for elderly or paediatric patients in many cases. Complementary approaches gain attention as viable alternatives or additions to conventional treatment.

The anhedonia question matters here. Anhedonia (the inability to experience joy or interest in activities) serves as the common thread across depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. A paradigm shift advocates targeting positive affect enhancement rather than solely alleviating negative symptoms.

Laughter operates through multiple pathways simultaneously. It triggers neurophysiological changes affecting mood regulation. It facilitates cognitive reappraisal, allowing people to reframe adverse experiences as less threatening. It strengthens social bonds, reducing loneliness that fuels mental health decline.

The dose-response pattern reveals something actionable. Laughter frequency correlates inversely with depression risk. Clinical trials across diverse populations show interventions work. The mechanisms operating through both biological and psychological channels become clearer as evidence accumulates.

This post explores how often you need to laugh for protective effects, which populations benefit from structured interventions, how laughter reshapes emotional processing, and why the social dimension amplifies mental health benefits past what solo laughter achieves. Practical strategies for incorporating more laughter into daily routines provide actionable tools once you understand the mechanisms.

Why Laughing More Often Reduces Depression Risk

A six-year longitudinal study following older Japanese adults aged 65 and above established a clear pattern. Individuals who never or rarely laughed in daily life faced a 49% higher depression risk compared to those who laughed almost every day.

The researchers adjusted for depressive symptoms measured before assessing laughter frequency. The association remained robust. This suggests the findings account at least partially for the possibility that prior depression might affect how frequently someone laughs.

A dose-response relationship emerged where lower laughter frequency was associated with higher depression risk. This pattern matters because it suggests causation rather than mere correlation.

Daily laughter practices produce measurable shifts in well-being. One study using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index found that participant wellbeing levels increased by 16% following the intervention. The participants reported:

1. Anger reduction and increased resilience: Emotional regulation improved alongside the capacity to handle adverse experiences without overwhelming distress.
2. More positive outlook: Participants described shifting perspectives on challenging situations, viewing them as less threatening or insurmountable than before the intervention.
3. Reduced anxiety levels: Worry and rumination (repetitive negative thinking patterns) decreased measurably on validated anxiety assessment scales.
4. Improved sleep quality: Sleep disturbances diminished as participants incorporated regular laughter into routines, creating conditions more conducive to rest.

The relationship operates bidirectionally (each direction influences the other). Depression decreases laughter frequency. People experiencing depressive episodes laugh less often, which then increases vulnerability to further mood decline. Breaking this cycle through intentional laughter practices shows promise as an intervention strategy.

Research examining laughter and mental health confirms these patterns hold across populations and settings. The consistency of findings strengthens confidence that frequent laughter provides genuine protective effects against the development of depression.

Social participation plays a role here. Laughter typically occurs during conversations with friends. This social laughter is more effective for health than solitary laughter when watching television. The interpersonal dimension amplifies benefits through mechanisms we’ll explore in the final section.

Well-being in the general population influences both physical and mental health. Low well-being levels correlate with mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. Laughter represents one accessible pathway to elevate baseline well-being, creating a buffer against the development of mood disorders.

The frequency threshold matters less than the pattern. People who integrate laughter regularly into daily life experience lower depression incidence compared to those who laugh rarely. The 49% risk difference provides substantial protection at no cost and with no equipment required.

Clinical Evidence for Laughter and Mental Health Interventions

Meta-analysis examining randomised controlled trials confirms laughter and humour interventions affect depression, anxiety, and sleep quality in adults. Twenty-seven included studies demonstrated that humour techniques (including humour therapy, clown intervention, and laughter therapy or yoga) reduce depression or anxiety levels.

The evidence base spans diverse populations and settings. What works in one context often translates to others, though some populations show stronger responses than specific intervention types.

Elderly Populations in Residential Settings

Three studies examined the effects of humour therapy on elderly residents in nursing homes. Depression and anxiety symptoms improved significantly across studies. The residential setting provided consistent intervention delivery, whilst the group format facilitated social connection alongside the laughter itself.

One study implementing laughter therapy over six weeks showed no depression improvement in depression among 36 nursing home seniors. The researchers explained the null finding as potentially due to the short duration and the timing of mood changes. They suggested continuing interventions over longer periods might produce significant depression score shifts.

Clinical Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Humour skills training produced significant depression and anxiety symptom improvements among 15 subjects, with scores reduced measurably following intervention. The training taught participants to recognise and generate humour in daily situations, building capacity rather than just exposing them to funny content.

Laughter yoga demonstrated particular effectiveness. In elderly depressed women, laughter yoga decreased depression mean scores by 60% compared to a 37.8% reduction in the exercise group. Both interventions helped, but laughter yoga showed superior effects on mood outcomes.

Elderly individuals with depression experienced a 15.5% sleep quality following compulsive laughter (structured laughter exercises). Depression mean scores decreased in the laughter group, alongside improvements in sleep.

Cancer Patients and Medical Populations

Research examining comedy video effects on anxiety in cancer patients demonstrated that humour therapy effectively relieves anxiety symptoms. The intervention provided accessible, low-cost anxiety management that patients could self-administer between clinical appointments.

Thirteen articles examining laughter therapy effects on depression or anxiety found improvements across multiple patient populations. These included individuals with depression, cancer, those undergoing haemodialysis (blood filtering treatment for kidney failure), retired women, immigrant women, infertile women, nursing home seniors, and university freshmen.

Limitations and Non-Responders

Two studies found that stand-up comedy training and humorous games did not improve depression and anxiety, particularly major depression. The intervention type matters. Active participation in generating humour or group laughter sessions appears more effective than passive consumption of comedy.

One study confirmed that implementing group-based laughter yoga intervention did not improve anxiety in depressed patients. The participants already carried depression diagnoses, suggesting laughter interventions may work better as prevention or early intervention rather than treatment for established disorders.

Parkinson’s patients showed no improvement in depression or anxiety following laughter therapy. However, their ability to function in daily life improved significantly. The neurological basis of Parkinson’s may limit laughter’s mood effects whilst preserving functional benefits.

The clinical evidence demonstrates that laughter and mental health interventions produce genuine effects across populations. The consistency of positive findings across methodological variations and diverse participant groups strengthens confidence in laughter as a viable complementary approach to mood disorder management.

How Laughter Reshapes Emotional Processing

Humour functions as a resource to increase resilience and promote well-being. It allows cognitive reappraisal of adverse life events, viewing challenging situations like a cancer diagnosis as less threatening. This reframing capacity operates through specific psychological mechanisms that alter how your brain processes emotional information.

Depression involves a negative information-processing bias. The condition essentially trains your brain to preferentially attend to, remember, and interpret information in negative ways. Humour development may benefit mental health recovery by interrupting this pattern, creating alternative processing pathways.

The broaden-and-build theory explains one mechanism. Positive emotions build personal resources and resilience by enhancing thought and action repertoires (the range of responses available to you). Simultaneously, the lingering of negative emotions diminishes. Each laugh slightly expands your cognitive flexibility, compounding over time into measurable resilience.

Specific changes occur following humour interventions:

• Cognitive reappraisal capacity increases: Humour allows you to downregulate negative emotions more effectively than rational reinterpretation alone. The emotional shift accompanying laughter alters how your brain processes adverse experiences, making them feel less overwhelming or threatening.
• Dispositional optimism rises measurably: Studies report significant increases in optimism following humour interventions. Participants score higher on validated optimism measures, indicating stable shifts in expectation patterns rather than temporary mood elevation.
• Cheerfulness as a trait strengthens: Research demonstrates increases in cheerfulness (a stable personality characteristic reflecting a tendency toward positive mood) following structured humour programmes. This represents a bigger change than momentary happiness.
• Coping humour abilities develop: Mental healthcare settings have potent effects on their development. Participants learn to use humour strategically under challenging situations, building practical skills rather than just experiencing pleasant moments.
• Resilience increases in clinical populations: High-quality studies found resilience increases in participants with moderate to severe depression following humour therapy. Resilience (the capacity to maintain or regain mental health despite adversity) is a valuable predictor of long-term functioning.

Positive psychology interventions help reduce symptoms and prevent relapses in depression by developing personal strengths through increasing positive emotions specifically. Laughter and mental health interventions operate within this framework, targeting positive affect enhancement rather than solely symptom reduction.

Elicited positive emotions mediate the effects of pleasure-based positive psychology interventions on depressive symptoms and happiness. The mechanism isn’t mysterious. Generating positive affect through laughter creates conditions that facilitate behavioural changes, which, in turn, sustain improved mood through feedback loops.

Humour was theorised to help participants view adverse life events more positively. The theory gains support from studies showing increases in positively balanced thinking found in participant interviews following interventions.

Depression decreases laughter frequency, creating a vicious cycle. Breaking this cycle requires intentional effort. The evidence suggests humour training provides tools to interrupt automatic negative processing, gradually shifting baseline emotional tone through repeated practice.

The Social Dimension of Laughter and Mental Health

Laughter functions primarily as a social behaviour. Most laughter occurs during conversations with friends rather than when consuming comedy alone. This social nature carries implications for mental health benefits that solo laughter cannot replicate.

From a psychosocial perspective, laughter enhances interpersonal communication and social connectedness. Enhanced social connectedness buffers against depressive symptoms by increasing social support and reducing loneliness. The mechanism operates through established pathways linking social isolation to mood disorders.

Research tracking older Japanese adults found that people were more likely to laugh during conversations with friends. This social laughter proved more effective for health than laughter while watching television. The interpersonal context amplifies physiological effects documented in our exploration of stress relief mechanisms.

Social engagement (including social participation and social networks) serves as a protective factor against depression in older adults. Laughter lies at an intermediate point between social interactions and health outcomes. It might represent one pathway explaining how social connections influence well-being.

The acoustic features of laughter communicate cooperative intent. Across 24 societies, individuals reliably distinguished friends from strangers based on laughter characteristics alone, achieving 53-67% accuracy. This suggests that laughter evolved as a nonverbal signal that facilitates social bonding across cultures.

Laughter contagion demonstrates its social power. Experiencing other people’s laughter serves as a powerful stimulus for further laughter. This occurs even when the joke lacks a comedic component. Bad jokes elicit laughter when others laugh at them. Social transmission matters more than humour quality.

Watching laughter-inducing comedy clips with close friends triggers endogenous opioid (natural pain-relieving chemical) release. This biochemical response strengthens during shared laughter, creating a biological foundation for social bonding alongside mood benefits.

The proportion of conversation spent laughing simultaneously with a romantic partner positively associates with relationship quality, closeness, and social support. Shared laughter predicts relationship outcomes more strongly than other positive behaviours, suggesting a unique bonding function.

Greater positive emotion expression by care recipients benefits the caregiver’s mental health. Genuine smiles by partners with Alzheimer’s disease are associated with better caregiver well-being. The emotional contagion operates bidirectionally, improving laughter and mental health for both parties in caring relationships.

Social disconnectedness and perceived isolation independently predict depression and anxiety in older adults. Laughter interventions delivered through group sessions reduce interpersonal conflict and tension whilst promoting overall health. The group format itself contributes therapeutic value separate from laughter benefits.

Studies examining humour interventions in mental health settings report improvements in connectedness. Participants described enhanced bonding with both staff and other patients. Statistically significant improvements were observed in relationship strength and mutuality, as measured by eco-mapping (a visual assessment tool that shows social network quality).

Improvements in social competence, increased perceived staff support, and benefits in social interaction patterns. The group setting in which interventions occurred led to increased social exchange and group bonding.

Humour improved communication skills according to participant reports. Laughter increases enjoyment during social interactions. These changes create conditions that support sustained mental health improvements beyond the completion of the intervention.

Meta-analyses found associations between weak social connections and both mortality and the development of cardiovascular disease. Individuals with weaker social ties show higher mortality and cardiovascular disease incidence compared to those maintaining strong social networks. Laughter and mental health benefits operate partly through strengthening these protective social ties.

Interactions with a greater variety of social ties are associated with a better mood. This occurs through engaging in a greater variety of behaviours, including physical activity. Casual conversation with others naturally induces laughter. The spontaneous laughter arising from diverse social contact provides mental health protection without requiring formal intervention.

Friendship plays an important role in subjective well-being, loneliness, anxiety, and happiness patterns. Laughter strengthens friendships through shared positive experiences, creating a virtuous cycle in which better relationships generate more laughter, which in turn further strengthens bonds.

Neighbourhood environments and public open spaces induce interactions among people. Places like restaurants, markets, and grocery stores function as “third places” for older people (locations outside home and work where elastic social ties develop). These settings naturally generate laughter through casual interaction, providing mental health benefits without formal structure.

The safety and availability of infrastructure encourage residents to walk or cycle more often. This leads to physical activity affecting mental health through mechanisms we explored regarding overall health benefits. Physical activity creates opportunities for social laughter, which compounds mental health benefits.

Hospital clowns demonstrate the power of social laughter in clinical settings. Multiple randomised controlled trials show clown interventions significantly relieve anxiety and emotional stress in children undergoing medical procedures. Parents’ emotions, behaviour, and health all influence their children’s psychological experiences.

Stress and anxiety transfer easily from parents to children. The clown intervention interrupts this transmission through shared laughter, benefiting both parties simultaneously.

The eruption of laughter into social interaction and its value in developing and sustaining relationships remains largely undisputed. Laughter is often regarded as a strategic social signal. Its function extends past momentary pleasure into relationship maintenance and mental health protection through sustained social connection.

The evidence presented across these sections reveals that laughter operates as more than a temporary mood enhancer. The 49% depression risk reduction for frequent laughers, the clinical trial success across diverse populations, the emotional processing shifts, and the social bonding mechanisms collectively demonstrate genuine mental health protection.

For someone like me, managing depression through significant life transitions, this research validates what the Garmin stress readings show after forest walks filled with spontaneous laughter. The science confirms what many already suspect: laughter matters for mental health in measurable, lasting ways.

Sources

• Barker, A. B., Winship, G. Recovery is no laughing matter–or is it? Health Soc. Incl. 20, 167–173
• Beck, A. T., Clark, D. A. Anxiety and depression: an information processing perspective. Anxiety Res. 1, 23–36
• Bega, D., Palmentera, P., Wagner, A., Hovde, M., Barish, B., Kwasny, M. J., & Simuni, T. Laughter is the best medicine: The Second City® improvisation as an intervention for Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 34, 62–65
• Bressington, D., Mui, J., Yu, C., Leung, S. F., Cheung, K., Wu, C. S. T., Bollard, M., & Chien, W. T. Feasibility of a group‐based laughter yoga intervention as an adjunctive treatment for residual symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in people with depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 248, 42–51
• Brodaty, H., Low, L.‐, Liu, Z., Fletcher, J., Roast, J., Goodenough, B., & Chenoweth, L. Successful ingredients in the SMILE study: Resident, staff, and management factors influence the effects of humor therapy in residential aged care. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(12), 1427–1437
• Bryant, G. A., Fessler, D. M., Fusaroli, R., Clint, E., Aarøe, L., Apicella, C. L., et al. Detecting affiliation in colaughter across 24 societies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 113(17):4682–7
• Cai, Q., Chen, S., White, S. J., Scott, S. K. Modulation of humor ratings of bad jokes by other people’s laughter. Curr Biol. 29(14):R677–R678
• Cai, C., Yu, L., Rong, L., & Zhong, H. Effectiveness of humor intervention for patients with schizophrenia: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 59, 174–178
• Chan, F. H. F., Lin, X., Griva, K., Subramaniam, M., Ćelić, I., & Tudor Car, L. Information needs and sources of information among people with depression and anxiety: A scoping review. BMC Psychiatry [Electronic Resource], 22(1), 502
• Chen, C., Tian, Y., Ni, L., Xu, Q., Hu, Y., Peng, B. The influence of social participation and depressive symptoms on cognition among middle-aged and older adults. Heliyon, 10 (2) (2024), Article e24110
• Craske, M.G., Dunn, B.D., Meuret, A.E., Rizvi, S.J., Taylor, C.T. Positive affect and reward processing in the treatment of depression, anxiety and trauma. Nat Rev Psychol. (2024) 3:665–85
• Dunbar, R.I.M., Frangou, A., Grainger, F., Pearce, E. Laughter influences social bonding but not prosocial generosity to friends and strangers. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(8):e0256229
• Fingerman, K. L., Huo, M., Charles, S. T., et al. Variety is the spice of late life: social integration and daily activity. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 75:377–88
• Fredrickson, B. L., Huppert, F. A., Baylis, N., Keverne, B. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 359:1367–1377
• Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., Ruch, W. A placebo-controlled online study on potential mediators of a pleasure-based positive psychology intervention: the role of emotional and cognitive components. J Happiness Stud, 19(7), 2035–2048
• Gelkopf, M., Gonen, B., Kurs, R., Melamed, Y., Bleich, A. The effect of humorous movies on inpatients with chronic schizophrenia. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 194, 880–883
• Gelkopf, M., Sigal, M., Kramer, R. Therapeutic use of humor to improve social support in an institutionalised schizophrenic inpatient community. J. Soc. Psychol. 134, 175–182
• Genç, H., & Saritas, S. The effects of watching comedy videos on anxiety and vital signs in surgical oncology patients. Explore (New York, N.Y.), 16(6), 401–406
• Ghodsbin, F., Sharif Ahmadi, Z., Jahanbin, I., & Sharif, F. The effects of laughter therapy on general health of elderly people referring to Jahandidegan community center in Shiraz, Iran, 2014: A randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 3(1), 31–38
• Gonot-Schoupinsky, F.N., Garip, G. Prescribing laughter to increase well-being in healthy adults: an exploratory mixed methods feasibility study of the Laughie. Eur J Integr Med. 2019;1(26):56–64
• Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., et al. Nature and health. Annu Rev Public Health, 35:207–28
• Hirsch, R. D., Junglas, K., Konradt, B., Jonitz, M. F. Humor therapy in the depressed elderly: results of an empirical study. Z. Gerontol. Geriatr. 43, 42–52
• Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., Stephenson, D. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 10:227–237
• Keyes, C.L. Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. J Consult Clin Psychol. (2005) 73:539
• Ko, H. J., Youn, C. H. Effects of laughter therapy on depression, cognition and sleep among the community-dwelling elderly. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 11(3):267–74
• Konradt, B., Hirsch, R. D., Jonitz, M. F., Junglas, K. Evaluation of a standardised humor group in a clinical setting: a feasibility study for older patients with depression. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 28, 850–857
• Kuiper, N. A. Humor and resiliency: towards a process model of coping and growth. Eur. J. Psychol. 8, 475–491
• Kurtz, L. E., & Algoe, S. B. When sharing a laugh means sharing more: Testing the role of shared laughter on short-term interpersonal consequences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 41(1), 45–65
• Lee, Y. J., Kim, M. A., & Park, H.‐ Effects of a laughter programme with entrainment music on stress, depression, and health‐related quality of life among gynaecological cancer patients. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 39, 101118
• Lopes-Júnior, L. C., Bomfim, E., Olson, K., Neves, E. T., Silveira, D. S. C., Nunes, M. D. R., et al. Effectiveness of hospital clowns for symptom management in paediatrics: systematic review of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 371:m4290
• Low, L.‐, Brodaty, H., Goodenough, B., Spitzer, P., Bell, J.‐P., Fleming, R., Casey, A.‐N., Liu, Z., & Chenoweth, L. The Sydney Multisite Intervention of LaughterBosses and ElderClowns (SMILE) study: Cluster randomised trial of humour therapy in nursing homes. BMJ Open, 3(1), e002072
• Low, L.‐, Goodenough, B., Fletcher, J., Xu, K., Casey, A.‐N., Chenoweth, L., Fleming, R., Spitzer, P., Bell, J.‐P., & Brodaty, H. The effects of humor therapy on nursing home residents measured using observational methods: The SMILE cluster randomised trial. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 15(8), 564–569
• Lwi, S. J., Casey, J. J., Verstaen, A., Connelly, D. E., Merrilees, J., & Levenson, R. W. Genuine smiles by patients during marital interactions are associated with better caregiver mental health. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(6), 975–987
• Manninen, S., Tuominen, L., Dunbar, R. I., Karjalainen, T., Hirvonen, J., Arponen, E., Hari, R., Jääskeläinen, I. P., Sams, M., Nummenmaa, L. Social laughter triggers endogenous opioid release in humans. J. Neurosci. 37:6125–6131
• Monin, J. K., Poulin, M. J., Brown, S. L., & Langa, K. M. Spouses’ daily feelings of appreciation and self-reported well-being. Health Psychology, 36(12), 1135–1139
• Navarro, J., del Moral, R., Alonso, M. F., et al. Validation of laughter for diagnosis and evaluation of depression. J Affect Disord, 160:43–9
• Noon, R. B., Ayalon, L. Older adults in public open spaces: age and gender segregation. Gerontologist, 58:149–58
• Okabayashi, H., Hougham, G. W. Gender differences of social interactions and their effects on subjective well-being among Japanese elders. Aging Ment Health, 18:59–71
• Provine, R. R. Laughter Punctuates speech: linguistic, social and gender contexts of laughter. Ethology, 95:291–8
• Provine, R. R. the science of laughter. Psychology Today.
• Provine, R. R. Contagious laughter: Laughter is a sufficient stimulus for laughs and smiles. Bull Psychon Soc. 30(1):1–4
• Rudnick, A., Kohn, P. M., Edwards, K. R., Podnar, D., Caird, S., & Martin, R. Humour‐related interventions for people with mental illness: A randomised controlled pilot study. Community Mental Health Journal, 50(6), 737–742
• Santini, Z.I., Jose, P.E., York Cornwell, E., et al. Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among older Americans (NSHAP): a longitudinal mediation analysis. Lancet Public Health, 5 (1) (2020), pp. e62-e70
• Santos, V., Paes, F., Pereira, V., et al. The role of positive emotion and contributions of positive psychology in depression treatment: systematic review. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Heal, 9(1), 221–237
• Scott, S.K., Lavan, N., Chen, S., McGettigan, C. The social life of laughter. Trends Cogn. Sci., 18 (12) (2014), pp. 618-620
• Shahidi, M., Mojtahed, A., Modabbernia, A., Mojtahed, M., Shafiabady, A., Delavar, A., Honari, H. Laughter yoga versus group exercise program in elderly depressed women: a randomised controlled trial. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 26(3):322–7
• Tagalidou, N., Distlberger, E., Loderer, V., & Laireiter, A.‐ Efficacy and feasibility of a humor training for people suffering from depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder: A randomised controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry [Electronic Resource], 19(1), 93
• Tamada, Y., Yamaguchi, C., Saito, M., et al. Does laughing with others lower the risk of functional disability among older Japanese adults? The JAGES prospective cohort study. Prev. Med., 155 (106945) (2022), Article 106945
• Torres, S. On elastic ties: distance and intimacy in social relationships. Sociological Science, 6:235–63
• van der Wal, C.N., Kok, R.N. Laughter-inducing therapies: systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc. Sci. Med., 232 (2019), pp. 473-488
• Zhao, J., Yin, H., Zhang, G., Li, G., Shang, B., Wang, C., et al. A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of laughter and humour interventions on depression, anxiety and sleep quality in adults. J Adv Nurs. 2019;75:2435–48