Can laughter help your mental health? 10 benefits to know about
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA
It turns out laughter can be the best medicine. So make room for belly laughs, it's good for your physical and mental health, and 6 tips to help you heal through laughter.
At some point, you’ve probably seen a pillow with the phrase, “laughter is the best medicine” stitched on it. And you probably rolled your eyes because it sounds so cliche. But it turns out that those pillows may actually have science on their side.
Sure, laughter makes us feel good, but research is proving that it can also have long-lasting effects on our health. When we laugh, our body and brain respond in ways that go far beyond a simple giggle. Our stress levels drop, our mood lifts, and our heart and immune system even get a little boost.
So crack open that joke book and let’s dig in. After all, you can’t spell ‘healthy’ without ‘HA’.
What are the benefits of laughter?
You know that feeling of total relaxation that you get after your friend just made you cry-laugh for a few minutes straight? Suddenly everything that you were worried about earlier in the day strangely doesn’t feel that bad — that’s the positive effects of laughter in action.
And it’s not just in your head, it’s backed by research. When you laugh, your brain, heart, lungs, and even your immune system all get a workout. It’s a whole-body experience and it can really help to reset you.
Laughing reminds us to just pause and enjoy the moment. And it can be a really powerful tool when things feel tough or overwhelming.
5 ways laughter helps mental health
When someone makes us laugh, it’s like liquid gold. It’s this free, fun little moment that gives us an escape for a second. And it can be one of the simplest and most effective tools for taking care of our mental health.
Here are five ways laughing can give our mood a boost and help us feel more balanced and resilient:
Reduces our stress: Laughter triggers a relaxation response in our body, which lowers stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This leaves us feeling calmer and more at ease.
Boosts our mood: Our body releases “feel-good” hormones when we laugh. This helps improve our mood and can make it easier for us to cope with tough situations.
Improves our resilience: When we laugh, it makes it a little easier for us to face challenges because it promotes a positive mindset. This can help us bounce back from stress, and even setbacks.
Strengthens our social connections: Laughing with other people can build trust and can encourage deeper relationships. When we feel connected to others, this can really reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation.
Reduces our symptoms of anxiety and depression: There’s even been research that shows laughing can lessen our feelings of anxiety and depression. Over time, this can slowly help us feel more relaxed and balanced.
5 ways laughter helps physical health
Laughing does more for us than just boost our mood and make us smile. It actually helps our body function better. Here are five ways laughter helps our physical health and gives us a meaningful boost:
Boosts our immune system: When we laugh, it increases the production of immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies in our body. This helps us to fight off getting sick and also helps us recover faster.
Improves our heart health: Laughing gets our blood pumping, improves our circulation, and lowers our blood pressure. This is all great news for our hearts.
Relieves our pain: Laughter releases feel good chemicals in our body. These chemicals act as natural pain relievers and can reduce our discomfort so that we may not even need medication. (Or it can at least help a lot when we do need to take medication).
Enhances our lung function: A great big laugh works out our diaphragm, strengthens our lungs, and increases our oxygen intake. These are all great side effects that benefit our body.
Supports our muscle relaxation: Laughing can help relax our tense muscles. This can reduce the pain and stiffness in our body.
How to use laughter to boost your mental health: 6 tips to find healing
Let’s be real. Life can be sad and stressful, and sometimes we’re not always in the mood to laugh. If that’s the case for you right now — we get it.
But while we always encourage you to feel all your feelings, sometimes you may need a little dose of laughter to ease your burden and keep moving forward. Here are six practical and approachable ways that you could invite some laughter into your life.
1. Watch or listen to something funny
Give yourself a break and turn on your favorite sitcom or listen to your favorite comedy podcast. Even if you’re not in the mood at first, watching or listening to something funny is an easy recipe to get you giggling.
Try this: Set aside a few minutes everyday to watch something that makes you laugh. You might put on your fav sitcom in the evening, or watch a short sketch or stand up set on your lunch break.
2. Spend time with funny people
We all have that one friend that really makes us laugh — or many friends if you’re lucky. Reach out to those people. Put yourself in the way of laughter and with people who bring out your playful side. Plus, when we laugh with our loved ones, it helps strengthen our relationships.
Try this: If you meet a funny person at a party, gym class, or social gathering, be brave — ask for their number, or ask to connect on social media! Try to fill up your circle with people you know are going to make you chuckle. And if making a new friend stresses you out, here are ten ways that can help you connect.
3. Try laughing yoga
If you’re a fan of yoga or trying out new exercises, give laughing yoga a try. It can sound strange but laughing while doing deep breathing techniques can help you feel more relaxed and uplifted.
Try this: The first time you try it out, whether solo or in a class, chances are you’re going to feel ridiculous. Just know that we all feel this way and keep going… The benefits are worth it.
💙 If you’re curious about laughing yoga but it also makes you nervous, try listening to Jay Shetty’s Breathe Into Relaxation to help mellow you out.
4. Read something that makes you laugh
If you love to read, treat yourself. Go to your local library to pick up the latest David Sedaris book or to check out Tina Fey’s “Bossy Pants.” You might even pick up a silly book that you loved from childhood. Find whatever makes you laugh and then just lean into it.
Try this: If you’re having trouble finding something funny to read, ask one of your friends that makes you laugh the hardest. They might be able to recommend a book that will also make you belly laugh.
💙 If Asking for Help isn’t your strong suit, listen to this meditation from the Daily Jay to help get you in the right mindset.
5. Laugh at yourself (we’ve all done it!)
Every person you’ve ever met has spilled coffee on themselves or tripped on the sidewalk. In the moment it can feel awkward or even incredibly frustrating. But if you can, try to laugh at yourself instead. Rather than feeling frustrated or embarrassed, laughing will give your mental health a boost, so really it’s the best practice in those silly human moments.
Try this: The next time you do something embarrassing, choose to reframe it in your mind as a gentle reminder to not to take life too seriously and to find joy in the imperfections. (And if you’re having trouble reframing your frustration, here are six ways that could help you cope.)
6. Create playful moments
Look for ways to add playfulness in your life. Being silly usually leads to laughter, which can help you let go of stress, feel lighter, and be more joyful. So if you have kids, play with them. And if you have pets, get down on the floor and don’t be afraid to get goofy with them.
Try this: Host a game night with your friends. It doesn’t need to be a big party. Make it as big or small as you want — just try to have the main focus be on letting go and laughing.
💙 Listen to Tamara Levitt’s session on Joy to help get you in a light and playful mood.
Benefits of laughter FAQs
Does laughter help with stress?
Laughing is actually a natural stress reliever. If you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed, seek out a little laughter to help you feel a little more relaxed and at ease. When you laugh, here are two ways your body reacts:
Levels of cortisol and adrenaline lessen and make you feel less tense and overwhelmed.
Feel good chemicals release, making you feel good and lifting your mood.
Can laughter improve immune function?
That famous saying is true — laughter really can be the medicine you need. When we laugh, our body starts to produce more antibodies and activates immune cells, like T-cells, that help protect us from infections. This means our body can more easily fight off illnesses like colds and the flu.
Also, laughing can help reduce the negative effects of chronic stress, which is known to weaken our immune response over time. So if you’re starting to feel under the weather, consider pressing play on your favorite comedy. It just might make you healthier and help your immune system out.
Is laughter good for the brain?
Laughing can have many fantastic benefits for your brain. Here are some of them:
It helps regulate our emotions, make decisions, and problem solve: When we laugh, it activates the regions of our brain that navigate our emotions, decision making, and problem solving.
It helps our brain release feel good chemicals and dopamine: Laughter causes our brain to release a surge of chemicals that help us feel happy and motivated. This can improve our focus and make it easier for us to tackle challenges.
It reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation: Laughing helps us to bond socially, which in turn helps with our mental health by lessening feelings of loneliness and isolation. Over time, this can help us create a more resilient and positive mindset.
How does laughter affect pain perception?
Laughing not only can make us feel relaxed but it can also surprisingly reduce our pain. When we laugh, our body releases feel good chemicals, which are basically natural painkillers. These chemicals can dull our perception of discomfort and make our pain feel less intense. In fact, some studies suggest that laughing for just a few minutes can actually increase our tolerance for pain.
This doesn’t mean you should stop getting medical treatment for pain. It just means that it can be a great complementary tool to also help manage your pain. And if you have a chronic pain condition, this can also help to improve your overall comfort (as can these five meditation techniques for chronic pain).
What is laughing yoga?
Laughing yoga is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an exercise that combines voluntary laughter with deep breathing techniques.
Our body can’t always tell the difference between real and fake laughter. So if we get our bodies to intentionally laugh, this can sometimes trigger the same benefits of real laughter.
If you were to take part in a class, you’d typically start by doing a playful exercise that’s designed to make you laugh. Usually you’d start off with fake giggles that hopefully would turn into real ones as you slowly start to relax. During this, you’d also be doing a breathing technique that would help oxygenate your body.
Doing both of these activities at the same time can help reduce your stress and boost your mood. It can also help you to let go of your inhibitions and embrace the joy of the moment. So if you’re interested, sign up for a class—or try it for yourself with these seven steps—and let yourself get a little silly!
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