Laughter’s Healing Potential: A Comparison of the Cardiovascular and Psychological Effects of Simulated and Spontaneous Laughter

Abstract

Laughter has long been reported to be beneficial for health; however, despite the abundance of theories and evidence for this, the mechanisms are not clearly understood. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore some of the proposed mechanisms by comparing the acute effects of spontaneous and simulated laughter on cardiovascular and mood measures. The study also aimed to compare the ability of these laughter types to buffer the physiological and psychological stress response. A sample of 72 participants were randomised to one of three conditions: a simulated laughter condition (n=24), a spontaneous laughter condition (n=24) and a control condition (n=24). Participants completed a six minute laughter task specific to their condition. Participants in the simulated condition generated fake laughter for the allotted time, the spontaneous condition viewed a humorous video and the control condition watched a documentary video. The laughter task was then followed by a speech task designed to induce a stress response. Cardiovascular and mood variables were measured throughout the experiment to examine any changes in these variables due to task and condition. Findings indicated that simulated and spontaneous laughter produced different cardiovascular responses. The simulated condition had a higher heart rate and lower heart rate variability during the laughter task compared to the other two conditions. The difference in heart rate was due to the fact that the simulated condition produced more laughter. The difference in heart rate variability, however, was unique to the simulated condition even when controlling for the amount of laughter produced. No differences were found between conditions during the stress task indicating that laughter may not attenuate the cardiovascular stress response. There was also inconclusive evidence for mood which was most likely due to lack of power. Overall, the findings support the idea that laughter is beneficial as it is a form of exercise. In particular, simulated laughter provides greater exposure to these exercise effects and thus causes greater physiological changes. This finding adds to the theory and provides an indication of the possible mechanism behind laughter. Future research is still required to expand on the ideas raised within this study.