Skip to main content

Humor Therapy May Aid Depression, Anxiety

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 28, 2023 -- Humor therapy may lessen symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to a review published online June 21 in Brain and Behavior.

Xuefeng Sun, from Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify studies evaluating the effectiveness and feasibility of multiform humor therapy on people suffering from depression or anxiety.

Based upon 29 studies (2,964 participants), the researchers found that most of the participants thought humor therapy was effective in improving depression and anxiety. There was variety in the studies examined for types of humor therapy (medical clowns, laughter therapy/yoga) and participants (e.g., undergoing surgery or anesthesia; older people in nursing homes; patients with Parkinson disease, cancer, mental illness, and undergoing dialysis; retired women; and college students).

"As a simple and feasible complementary alternative therapy, humor therapy may provide a favorable alternative for clinicians, nurses, and patients in the future," the authors write. "Future research should use widely accepted definitions of humor and effective assessment tools to try to assess and test the effects of humor interventions based on neurobiological effects and laboratory marker tests to better understand how humor therapy affects mental health."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted June 2023

Read this next

Bidirectional Link ID'd for Change in Depressive Symptoms, Memory Change

THURSDAY, June 13, 2024 -- A linear change in depressive symptoms is associated with accelerated memory change and vice versa in adults aged 50 years or older, according to a...

Exposure to Depressive Symptoms Linked to Worse Cognitive Function

WEDNESDAY, June 12, 2024 -- Exposure to elevated depressive symptoms starting in young adulthood is associated with worse cognitive function over midlife, with the association...

Risk of Suicide, Homicide Both Higher at Night

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- The risk of suicide and homicide is higher at night than might be expected based on the number of people awake at that time, according to a study published...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.