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 video, followed by a series of physical and cognitive measures. They found that adults who viewed the humorous video experienced increased parasympathetic activity and a reduction in psychological stress levels, measured by both physical and mental measures. They recognize that laughter is helpful to psychosocial and physical health and has been acknowledged as a method of alleviating depression and anxiety. They explain that laughter reduces stress hormones, activates natural killer cells, which boosts immunity, and lowers blood pressure. Adding to its utility, they note laughter therapy is non-pharmacological, non-invasive, and relatively easy to administer. Accordingly, it is viewed as a good complement to other treatments as a way to lessen the impact of disease and increase the health of middle-aged adults. Considering the nature of the benefits, however, laughter is clearly good medicine for individuals of any age.
Improving Mood and Focus
Yamakoshi et al. found additional laughter-related benefits in their study beyond what had been documented in prior research. Acknowledging the benefit of video-based interventions, they looked at the impact on adults between the ages of 40–65 years, whereas previous studies investigated people over the age of 65. They also note that while prior studies investigated the impact of 20-minute comedic videos, they demonstrated the benefit of viewing clips of only four minutes.
And regarding mood, Yamakoshi et al. found that subjective mood states were significantly higher in almost all areas after participants watched the comedic video as compared to the control video. This corroborates previous studies finding that laughter creates a temporary boost in mood.
Yamakoshi et al. conclude that even a short comedic video clip can potentially increase focused attention and reduce stress, particularly when performing cognitive tasks. It appears that humor-based interventions are enjoyable, practical methods of addressing stress-induced inattentiveness in daily living and improving the mental health and cognitive functions of middle-aged adults.
As a practical matter, the empirically documented benefits of laughter are consistent with anecdotal experience using laughter to calm nerves, break the ice when meeting someone new, facilitate bonding, and be a free way to boost mood. Lighten the mood with a healthy lifestyle, love, and laughter.
References
[i] Yamakoshi, Tatsuya, Ryo Sakamoto, Takafumi Fukuda, Ayana Kanatome, Atsuko Koyama, and Yasuhisa Ano. “Effects of Laughter on Focus and Stress in Middle-Aged Adults: A Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (London) 25, no. 1 (2025): 123.