The Health Implications of Laughter: From Ab Workouts to Stress Reduction

Published

2 years ago

December 21, 2023

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By Marzia Khan Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM

The physiology of laughter: What happens in our bodies when we laugh?
Laughter's Magic: The neurochemistry of a good chuckle
Giggles and gains: Physical health benefits from abdominal workouts to immune boosting
Laughter in Therapy: Techniques, applications, and transformative tales
Conclusion
Further reading and references

A ubiquitous characteristic found in all humans is the ability to laugh, no matter what culture or race, this seems to be a common denominator that connects everyone. While laughing is an attribute of happiness and joy, it also has significant health implications that benefits the individual, from reducing stress levels to boosting the immune system as well as aiding with physical health. This article will delve into the various health advantages of engaging in laughter.

Image Credit: fizkes/Shutterstock.com The physiology of laughter: What happens in our bodies when we laugh?

Laughter has been found to start from infancy between the second and sixth month of newborn life and is one of the first social vocalizations in humans, with spontaneous laughter even being seen in children born as deaf or blind disabilities.

Interestingly, this instinctive behavior that we’re genetically programmed to display, has also been found in non-human primates.

The mechanism of laughter is produced through the cooperation of various systems that work to create an expressive pattern through respiratory, facial, bodily, acoustic and cognitive alterations.

There are two different types of laughter found in humans, including involuntary emotionally-driven laughter, which is reliant on a positive emotional state, and voluntary laughter that represents the intentional reproduction of emotional laughter.

The natural maneuver caused by laughter is stimulated by emotion, and during laughter, stress is applied to the chest wall, which causes fast and significant motion. This can lead to sudden and substantial reduction in lung volume in all respiratory compartments as well as compression of the airways.

Laughter can also impact the brain in various ways. The activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and the subsequent increase in glucocorticoids is a significant physiological response to either physical or psychological stress signals. There are previous findings within adults that have suggested spontaneous laughter can affect the HPA axis through the reduction of cortisol levels, which can decrease stress. Laughter's Magic: The neurochemistry of a good chuckle

The two types of laughter cause variation in facial expressions as well as stimulating different neural pathways that control them.

Duchenne laughter, known as involuntary laughter, begins in the brain stem and limbic system, which is responsible for emotions. However, non-Duchenne laughter can be controlled by voluntary premotor regions, which is thought to contribute to planning movements, found in the frontal cortex.

A study from The Journal of Neuroscience has found social laughter to increase pleasurable sensations as well as triggering endogenous opioid release in the brain. Participants have also been found to have increased pain thresholds after watching comedy in order to induce laughter.

The increase of the brain’s production of endorphins, known as feel-good chemicals, caused by laughter, have the ability to relieve pain and decrease stress levels. The benefits of laughing | News2Me Play Giggles and gains: Physical health benefits from abdominal workouts to immune boosting

As well as reducing stress levels, laughter can also impact heart rate and blood pressure, which can help with relaxation.

Psychologist, Susan Albers, explained how humor can impact immunity in positive ways, stating, “Laughter helps to boost the immune system, which makes you more resistant to disease. Also, it decreases stress hormones, which are taxing to your immune system. On the other hand, laughter increases the antibody-producing cells and T cells in our bodies. These cells are like a defense army against illness.”

She continues with providing one of the best reasons for laughter, which is to prevent emotional eating, “when we laugh, it triggers the release of feel-good neurotransmitters. Even a subtle smile can trick your brain into thinking you are happy – thus reducing the need to munch to soothe your nerves or anxiety.” With depression becoming an epidemic in modern society, laughter can aid in improving low moods and reducing stress, even if its artificially induced.

The physical benefit of laughter is also extensive, with this joyous experience also providing a workout for bodily systems, including the cardiovascular, pulmonary and respiratory systems. Laughter causes the diaphragm, chest and abdominal muscles to tighten, driving the lungs to work harder through forcing the remaining air out and permitting fresh air deeper into the lungs, which can enable more effective exhalations, due to assisting the expansion of the alveoli.

Additionally, laughter shares common advantages that are associated with exercise, with a recent literature review confirming the physiological benefits of laughter, such as through exercising and relaxing muscles as well as improving respiration and stimulating circulation.

Simulated laughter may be ideal for the older population with functional or cognitive impairments that can access benefits of laughter more easily, with sedentary individuals being able to use laughter as part of a cardiovascular exercise program.

Interestingly, the physical act of laughter can be compared to mild cardiovascular exercise, and intense laughter through laughter exercises can be equivalent to short aerobic bursts in interval training, a type of exercise with varied intensity popular in abdominal workouts.

Image Credit: Motortion Films/Shutterstock.com Laughter in Therapy: Techniques, applications, and transformative tales

The phrase, ‘laughter is medicine’, has often been propagated through communities due to its ability to engage both the mental and physical body effectively. Laughter therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that aims to drive healthy relationships relating to physical, psychological and social wellbeing, and ultimately improves quality of life of individuals.

Laughter serves a social function and can act as a signal for a connection with another person. Research has found we are 30 times more likely to laugh within a group, or even with one other person, aiding in friendship, feelings of happiness as well as decreasing stress due to the rush of endorphins. Conclusion

Laughter has been reinforced by recent research linking various positive benefits, from physical advantages to increased pain tolerance, immune boosting impact, as well as aiding with diverse medical ailments, such as in oncology, psychiatry and rehabilitation.

With a more holistic view of medicine, functional medicine has increased in popularity, and laughter may be a natural medicinal supplement to improve the overall health of populations. Further reading and references Cleveland Clinic. It’s OK to laugh right now. Cleveland Clinic. November 27, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/its-ok-to-laugh-right-now. Greene CM, Morgan JC, Traywick LS, Mingo CA. Evaluation of a laughter-based exercise program on health and self-efficacy for exercise. The Gerontologist. Published online 2016. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw105 Is laughter good for lung health? American Lung Association. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.lung.org/blog/laughter-for-lungs. Kramer CK, Leitao CB. Laughter as medicine: A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies evaluating the impact of spontaneous laughter on cortisol levels. PLOS ONE. 2023;18(5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286260 Manninen S, Tuominen L, Dunbar RI, et al. Social laughter triggers endogenous opioid release in humans. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2017;37(25):6125-6131. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0688-16.2017 Sabato G. What’s so funny? the science of why we laugh. Scientific American. August 13, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/. Stierwalt EES. Why do we laugh? Scientific American. February 14, 2020. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-we-laugh/. Stress relief from laughter? it’s no joke. Mayo Clinic. September 22, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456. Talami F, Vaudano AE, Meletti S. Motor and limbic system contribution to emotional laughter across the lifespan. Cerebral Cortex. 2019;30(5):3381-3391. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhz316 Yim J. Therapeutic benefits of laughter in mental health: A theoretical review. The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2016;239(3):243-249. doi:10.1620/tjem.239.243

Last Updated: Dec 11, 2023

Business

Surprise rise in inflation as summer travel pushes up air fares

Published

42 mins ago

August 20, 2025

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Surprise rise in inflation as summer travel pushes up air fares

Prices in the UK rose even faster than expected last month, reaching the highest level in 18 months, according to official figures.

Inflation hit 3.8% in July, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

Not since January 2024 have prices risen as fast.

It’s up from 3.6% in June and is anticipated to reach 4% by the end of the year.

Economists polled by Reuters had only been expecting a 3.6% rise.

More unwelcome news is contained elsewhere in the ONS’s data.

Train tickets

Another metric of inflation used by government to set rail fare rises, the retail price index, came in at 4.8%.

It means train tickets could go up 5.8% next year, depending on how the government calculate the increase.

This year, the rise was one percentage point above the retail price index measure of inflation.

These regulated fares account for about half of rail journeys.

Why?

Inflation rose so much due to higher transport costs, mostly from air fares due to the school holidays, as well as from fuel and food.

Petrol and diesel were more expensive in July this year compared to last, which made journeys pricier.

Coffee, orange juice, meat and chocolate were among the items with the highest price rises, the ONS said. It contributed to food inflation of 4.9%.

What does it mean for interest rates?

Another measure of inflation that’s closely watched by rate setters at the Bank of England rose above expectations.

Core inflation – which measures price rises without volatile food and energy costs – rose to 3.8%. It had been forecast to remain at 3.7%.

It’s not good news for interest rates and for anyone looking to refix their mortgage, as the Bank’s target for inflation is 2%.

Whether or not there’ll be another cut this year is hotly debated, but at present, traders expect no more this year, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

Economists at Capital Economics anticipate a cut in November, while the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) expect one more by the end of the year.

Analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics forecast no change in the base interest rate.

Political response

Responding to the news, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:

“We have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, and we’re a long way from the double-digit inflation we saw under the previous government, but there’s more to do to ease the cost of living.”

Shadow chancellor and Conservative Mel Stride said, “Labour’s choices to tax jobs and ramp up borrowing are pushing up costs and stoking inflation. And the Chancellor is gearing up to do it all over again in the autumn.”

Business

AI ‘immune system’ Phoebe lands backing from Google arm

Published

3 hours ago

August 20, 2025

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AI 'immune system' Phoebe lands backing from Google arm

An AI start-up which claims to act as an ‘immune system’ for software has landed $17m (£12.6m) in initial funding from backers including the ventures arm of Alphabet-owned Google.

Sky News has learnt that Phoebe, which uses AI agents to continuously monitor and respond to live system data in order to identify and fix software glitches, will announce this week one of the largest seed funding rounds for a UK-based company this year.

The funding is led by GV – formerly Google Ventures – and Cherry Ventures, and will be announced to coincide with the public launch of Phoebe’s platform.

It is expected to be announced publicly on Thursday.

Phoebe was founded by Matt Henderson and James Summerfield, the former chief executive and chief information officer of Stripe Europe, last year.

The duo sold their first start-up, Rangespan, to Google a decade earlier.

Their latest venture is motivated by data suggesting that the world’s roughly 40 million software developers spend up to 30% of their time reacting to bugs and errors.

Financial losses to companies from software outages are said to have reached $400bn globally last year, according to the company.

Phoebe’s swarms of AI agents sift through siloed data to identify errors in real time, which it says reduces the time it takes to resolve them by up to 90%.

“High-severity incidents can make or break big customer relationships, and numerous smaller problems drain engineering productivity,” Mr Henderson said.

“Software monitoring tools exist, but they aren’t very intelligent and require people to spend a lot of time working out what is wrong and what to do about it.”

The backing from blue-chip investors such as GV and Cherry Ventures underlines the level of interest in AI-powered software remediation businesses.

Roni Hiranand, an executive at GV, said: “AI has transformed how code is written, but software reliability has not kept pace.

“Phoebe is building a missing layer of contextual intelligence that can help both human and AI engineers avoid software failures.

“We love the boldness of the team’s vision for a software immune system that pre-emptively fixes problems.”

Phoebe has signed up customers including Trainline, the rail booking app.

Jay Davies, head of engineering for reliability and operations at Trainline, said Phoebe had “already had a real impact on how we investigate and remediate incidents”.

“Work that used to take us hours to piece together can now take minutes and that matters when you’re running critical services at our scale.”

Entertainment

Paul Weller suing former accountants after they stopped working with him over Gaza statements

Published

3 hours ago

August 20, 2025

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Paul Weller suing former accountants after they stopped working with him over Gaza statements

Paul Weller is suing his former accountants after they stopped working with him after he alleged Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, according to a legal letter.

The former frontman of The Jam, 67, has filed a discrimination claim against Harris and Trotter after the firm ended their professional relationship.

Lawyers for Weller say the singer-songwriter was told in March that the accountants and tax advisers would no longer work with him or his companies.

According to the letter, which was seen by the PA news agency, a WhatsApp message from a partner at the firm said: “It’s well known what your political views are in relation to Israel, the Palestinians and Gaza, but we as a firm are offended at the assertions that Israel is committing any type of genocide.

“Everyone is entitled to their own views, but you are alleging such anti-Israel views that we as a firm with Jewish roots and many Jewish partners are not prepared to work with someone who holds these views.”

Israel has vehemently denied claims of genocide.

But lawyers for Weller claim by ending their services, the firm unlawfully discriminated against the singer’s protected philosophical beliefs, including that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and Palestine should be recognised as a nation state.

Weller said: “I’ve always spoken out against injustice, whether it’s apartheid, ethnic cleansing, or genocide. What’s happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe.

“I believe they have the right to self-determination, dignity, and protection under international law, and I believe Israel is committing genocide against them. That must be called out.

“Silencing those who speak this truth is not just censorship – it’s complicity.

“I’m taking legal action not just for myself, but to help ensure that others are not similarly punished for expressing their beliefs about the rights of the Palestinian people.”

The legal letter says Weller will donate any damages he receives to humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza.

Cormac McDonough, a lawyer at Hodge Jones and Allen, which is representing Weller, said his case “reflects a wider pattern of attempts to silence artists and public figures who speak out in support of Palestinian rights”.

Mr McDonough added: “Within the music industry especially, we are seeing increasing efforts to marginalise those who express solidarity with the people of Gaza.”

Sky News has contacted Harris and Trotter for comment.