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Lighten Up: Laughter is Good Medicine

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12.10.2026

Laughter provides a clinically significant, non-invasive benefits.

Watching humorous content reduces psychological stress and boosts mood.

Videos as short as four minutes can produce measurable benefits from laughter.

One of the most rewarding, enjoyable, and affordable pleasures in life is laughter. It relaxes our muscles, calms our mind, and is best enjoyed with others. Yet laughter apparently has additional benefits to both mind and body that are particularly relevant as we age. Research explains.

Laughter Over the Lifespan

Tatsuya Yamakoshi et al. (2025) examined the impact of laughter on stress and focus on middle-aged adults.[i] Studying 25 healthy Japanese-speaking adults aged 40-65, they demonstrated how a short-term laughter-based experiment provided support for the clinically significant, non-invasive benefit of humor.

Yamakoshi et al. showed participants a four-minute video clip, either comedic or a control........

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