This surprising practice could help manage stress

If stress is inevitable in certain everyday situations, when it affects all of our activities and prevents us from functioning, it becomes problematic. Ultimately, stress can have a cost to our physical health in addition to our mental health. When stress is constant and the body is not given any relief, it can cause digestive problems, headaches, muscle tension and pain, weight gain, memory problems and cardiovascular disease. vascular.

And if laughing is rarely the immediate response to stress, this could be a way to reduce it. In a study, published in October 2024 in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-BeingMerve Altiner Yas and Olga Incesu attempted laughter yoga interventions in nursing students under intense stress.

Laughter yoga, an effective response to stress?

To carry out their research and verify the effectiveness of laughter yoga on stress, Merve Altiner Yas and Olga Incesu tested their hypothesis on nursing students. Subject to the pressure of studies, these students must also deal with stress in their professional environment. A total of 83 final year nursing students participated.

The participants were divided into two groups. The first, made up of 41 participants, followed a weekly 40-minute laughter yoga session. The other group, designated the control group, did not benefit from any intervention. Created by Madan Kataria, laughter yoga combines from yoga breathing techniques to unconditional laughter. “Based on the philosophy that the brain is unable to distinguish authentic laughter from fake laughter, it is believed to have positive effects on the body and mind,” write the researchers. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effects of laughter yoga on the reduction of symptoms of stress and depression, the relaxation of muscle tone, the reduction of blood pressure, the increase in the secretion of melatonin and growth hormone, the increase in the pain threshold and the strengthening the immune system » Alongside the interventions. of laughter yoga, the researchers measured the well-being of all participants.

Rapid effects on stress

As presumed, laughter yoga has indeed had a positive impact on well-being levels students. The results showed a significant increase in the well-being score compared to that of the pre-test. At the same time, there was no significant change in the well-being scores of the control group.

Most students who took the yoga classes reported feeling happier and less stressed after the sessions. Stress levels also decreased in this group, although the researchers found no difference in perceived stress levels between the laughter yoga group and the control group at the end of the study.