What’s the evidence behind the health benefits of Comedy?

Laughter and comedy - articles and research

‘Benefits of laughter include reduced anger, anxiety, depression, and stress; reduced tension (psychological and cardiovascular); increased pain threshold; reduced risk of myocardial infarction; improved lung function; increased energy expenditure; and reduced blood glucose concentration.’

- Laughter and MIRTH (Methodical Investigation of Risibility, Therapeutic and Harmful): narrative synthesis - Prof. R E Ferner, J K Aronson, British Medical Journal

Laughter enhances blood vessel function, promoting blood flow. This effect can last for up to 24 hours.

“Carotid arterial compliance (by simultaneous application of ultrasound imaging and applanation tonometry) increased (10%) significantly immediately after watching the comedy and returned to baseline 24 hours after the watching.” - Effect of Mirthful Laughter on Vascular Function, Jun Sugawara PhD, Takashi Tarumi MS, Hirofumi Tanaka PhD, American Journal of Cardiology

The physiological benefits of laughter are equivalent to a moderate 20-minute workout.

“To assess the health benefits of laughter, Lee S. Berk showed 14 volunteers 20-minute clips from humorous television programmes such as Saturday Night Live, measuring their blood pressure and cholesterol levels before and afterwards. During the “laughercise” both cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure fell… Watching sombre scenes from Saving Private Ryan had no such effect.” - Laughter's secrets: The best medicine? David Robson, New Scientist

What is mirthful laughter?

Mirthful laughter refers to genuine, spontaneous laughter that arises from feelings of joy, amusement, or delight. It is characterised by its natural and infectious quality, often occurring in response to humour, playful situations, or shared moments of happiness with others. Unlike forced or nervous laughter, mirthful laughter is authentic and often seen as a reflection of true enjoyment or a carefree state of mind.

In psychological and social contexts, mirthful laughter is celebrated for its benefits, such as reducing stress, enhancing social bonds, and improving overall well-being. It’s the type of laughter that brings people together and creates memorable, uplifting experiences.

Find the power of laughing at life, starting with ourselves…

“My life has been one great big joke, a dance that's walked a song that's spoke, I laugh so hard I almost choke when I think about myself.”- Dr Maya Angelou

How can I practice mirthful laughter?

Mirthful laughter often emerges when people feel safe, connected, and fully immersed in the joy of the moment.

Social examples

Inside jokes with friends: When someone in a close group shares an inside joke, and everyone bursts into laughter because they instantly understand the humour and context.

Playful banter: Light teasing among friends or family that leads to shared, uncontrollable laughter.

Comedy nights: Watching a stand-up comedian who delivers an unexpected punchline that genuinely delights the audience, resulting in uproarious laughter.

Situational examples

Unplanned moments: A child or pet does something adorable or silly, such as a toddler trying to mimic adult behaviour with exaggerated expressions, causing everyone around to laugh joyfully.

Unexpected outcomes: When someone tries something new (like karaoke or a new dance) and the outcome is both surprising and amusing to everyone present.

Media examples

Comedy sketches or sitcoms: Classic moments from shows like The Office or Friends, where situational humour and character dynamics provoke hearty laughter.

Viral online clips: A hilarious prank video where the joke is light-hearted and causes viewers to laugh out loud spontaneously.

Comedy podcasts: Shows like The Bugle or Off Menu, where witty banter, surreal humour, and unexpected punchlines provoke hearty laughter.

Physical humour

Playful games: Tickling matches or physical comedy, such as someone sitting on a whoopee cushion and the unexpected "fart" sound creating a burst of laughter from its harmless absurdity.

Improvisation: Watching a comedy improvisation where a performer cleverly twists an ordinary prompt into something hilariously unexpected.

Spontaneous real-life moments:

  • Misheard lyrics: Singing the wrong words to a popular song, and everyone laughs when the mistake is realised.

  • Unexpected wardrobe mishap: A hat blown off by the wind in a funny way.

  • Sudden irony: Spilling water while explaining how careful you are.

Miscommunication humour: When someone mishears or misunderstands a comment, leading to a funny response that everyone can laugh about together.

Situational irony: Realising in the moment that something ironic or absurd has happened, like getting caught in a sudden downpour but finding it so ridiculous that laughter becomes inevitable.

PERFORMANCE COMEDY AS AN AGENT OF CHANGE

“Comic performance is one of Australia’s most important cultural forms, providing a major platform for social commentary and aesthetic innovation. Comic performance plays a unique role in shaping national character; in revealing and critiquing the tensions between affirmation of identity on the one hand – with its inevitable exclusions and sometimes oppressions – and liberation, heterogeneity and subversion on the other. Indigenous comedic performance, for example, has been a major point of cross-cultural contact and an important medium for Indigenous voice and resistance. Likewise convicts, working class people, women, and post-war migrants deployed a carnivalesque humour to subvert authority and express alternative or democratic Australian identities. Whether on stage, screen, audio, TV or streaming, performance comedy has been at the forefront of freeing up what is permissible in art and the public sphere and helped legitimise ideas and agendas emerging from social change and identity movements spanning workers’ rights, anti-war, feminism, land rights, environmentalism, LGBTIQA+ and multicultural diversity. Culturally, comedy has become embroiled in debates over what is racist, what is sexist, what is offensive, who we can laugh at what, when and why.”

Monash University Australia “Comedy Country: Australian Performance Comedy as an Agent of Change”