Effect of laughter yoga on anxiety and depression in people with Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder impairing motor function, profoundly affecting patients and their caregivers. PD is characterized by motor impairments as well as various health-related quality of life, including well-being, anxiety, apathy, cognitive deficits, sleep disturbances, depression, and autonomic dysfunction. Studies indicate that mind-body interventions can complement PD medications and enhance patients' quality of life. Among mind-body interventions, Laughter Yoga (LY) has gained popularity, with evidence suggesting its potential for management of PD symptoms. LY has been shown to reduce stress, pain, tension, depression, anxiety, and sleep problems. The benefits of LY may inform evidence-based nursing interventions to enhance the psychological well-being of individuals with PD and their caregivers. Nurses should receive training in LY or refer patients and caregivers to LY sessions during secondary care. Future research should investigate the use and effectiveness of LY as a nursing intervention for PD patients and their caregivers.

BackgroundLaughter yoga is a laughter exercise that combines yoga and breathing exercises (Pranayama). Laughter yoga decreases stress and burnout levels, depression and anxiety, salivary cortisol levels. The aim of the research is to systematically examine the studies on the effect of laughter yoga on health parameters in nurses and nursing students.MethodsSystematic review of RCTs and quasi-experimental studies. The PRISMA protocol was used as the basis for the conduct of the study. Google Scholar, Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, CINAHL Complete and OVID databases were used for study search. Inclusion criteria was based on PICOS. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute-Meta analysis Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI). 10 studies were included in the systematic review after those excluded due to reasons not meeting the inclusion criteria.ResultsIt was determined that the sample size was 50 or more in 80% of the studies. It was determined that the maximum number of laughter yoga sessions was 24 and at least 5 sessions. It has been observed that stress levels evaluated with different measurement tools decrease with the effect of laughter yoga in four studies. In three studies it was found that the level of burnout decreased after laughter yoga. In two studies in which salivary cortisol levels were evaluated also showed that laughter yoga reduced cortisol levels.ConclusionsIt was concluded that stress and burnout levels, depression and anxiety, salivary cortisol levels decreased especially after laughter yoga. In addition, it was concluded that laughter yoga had positive effects on psychological well-being, life satisfaction, subjective happiness increase in and general health in the groups where laughter yoga was practiced.

When it comes to end-stage renal disease patients, hemodialysing is one of the most critical treatments they can receive. Even if they received hemodialysis (HD) treatment regularly, patients would experience many complications such as cardiovascular disease, fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and a declining quality of life. Laughter Yoga has been reported to have many positive effects on patients with chronic illnesses. By removing or reducing stress, Laughter Yoga (LY) helps to improve patients' quality of life, Thus, they have a longer chance of survival. However, the effect of Laughter Yoga on HD patients is generally inconclusive. Objective is to evaluate LY's impact on HD patients. We searched electronic databases that included Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and clinical trial registries. The search period was from their inception to January 29, 2023. The search keywords included laughter therapy, laughter yoga, laugh, hemodialysis, dialysis, and renal dialysis. The systematic review included both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experiments studies. Three RCTs and three non-RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Laughter Yoga showed patients having improvement in several outcomes such as life quality, pain severity, sleep quality, subjective well-being, mood, depression, blood pressure, and vital capacity. A well-designed RCT will be developed to further test the potential benefits of LY for HD patients.

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem and emerging health problem in India. To study new methods of CKD rehabilitation complications by laughter yoga and clapping exercise program in south Delhi metro population. Methods For this purpose, we used laughter yoga, which includes respiratory laughing and fun exercises. Fifty-six patients (subject) between 45–65 years old with CKD were studied and divided into two groups (laughter yoga and clapping exercise group and control group) to see the effect of laughter yoga and clapping exercise group in CKD for 30 days. Using a cross-sectional design, which includes age, family history of CKD patients, exercise status and waist circumference, fasting glucose and insulin, glucose tolerance test (GTT), renal ultrasonography, regular monitoring of blood pressure, renal function, requirement of a number of dialysis, serum creatinine level and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and quality of life (QOL) indicators were done CKD patients. A 30 min lecture was followed by 30 min intense clapping workout for those participants who had laughter yoga included in the program. Results The present study showed that after three months treatment there was a significant reduction of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose levels, glycosylated haemoglobin levels, significant reduction in blood urea and serum creatinine levels, and significant improvement in physical and psychological domain compare to normal levels with changes in lifestyle. Present study highlight that the successful treatment of CKD patients not only requires drugs; but also family care, lifestyle education, harmonised mind-body-soul, awareness, psychological support, preventive approach toward activity of daily living. Conclusions Our study indicated the importance of daily opportunities for laughter in patients with CKD patients. For subjects in yoga and exercise group, the need for dialysis was less when compared to control group although this difference was statistically insignificant. Therefore, preventive CKD education programme and promotion of laughter yoga and clapping will be the future plan of action for control and treatment.

Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for People with Parkinson's Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Adults with chronic disease may experience uncertainty and depression when coping with their illness. This study identifies degrees of uncertainty and depression, as well as factors associated with depression in people with Parkinson's disease. The 120 participants included patients who visited the neurology outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Seoul and individuals who attended public events managed by the Korean Parkinson's Disease Association. The mean age of the sample was 65.01 and 50.8% of patients were men. The mean scores of uncertainty and depression, measured using the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale and Short Form Geriatric Depression Scale were 99.03 and 6.73, respectively. Approximately 68% of participants scored above the cut-off score for depression. Multiple regression analyses showed that uncertainty, perceived health status, and fatigue were factors significantly associated with depression. Nurses should be aware of and address these factors and their effects in order to implement interventions to prevent depression in people with Parkinson's disease.

Everyone has heard the adage that ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ or ‘Laughter is the incurable pain medication‘. Laughter has been associated with a number of physiological and psychological benefits. Laughter yoga (LY) is a contemporary technique that encourages participants to mimic the act of laughing, with the goal of achieving positive psychological outcomes. The study intended to evaluate the effectiveness of laughter yoga on the symptom checklist (SCL-90-R) of youths suffering from Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling disorder). Mached pairs or case control study design. The statistical method is a Paired samples T-test (Quantitative variables, interval level of measurement). Data analysis was down with using Version IBM SPSS Statistics study done in Tehran laughter yoga centers. The target population includes all youths (girls and boys) ages between 14 to 20 that suffering from Trichotillomania (TTM) that participating in Tehran laughter yoga centers's classes in between November 2014 to February 2015. Laughter yoga is done in groups, with eye contact and playfulness between participants that received 8 weeks LY (3 sessions per week, each session; 45 minutes). The findings showed a significant difference in the mean scores of before and after laughter Yoga intervention in the group of youths suffering from Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling disorder). The findings showed that laughter Yoga had a positive effect on reducing the symptom checklist (SCL-90-R) of youths suffering from Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling disorder) in 8 weeks (3 sessions per week, each session; 45 minutes).

This experimental study aimed to determine the effects of online laughter yoga on the sleep quality and vasomotor symptoms (VMS) of menopausal women through a prospective, randomized controlled trial. About 36 women who attend the Menopause School were randomized into either the laughter yoga (n=18) or the control group (n=18). The laughter yoga group participated in eight online laughter yoga sessions, with two sessions per week for four weeks, whereas the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The laughter yoga group had significantly lower posttest VAS scores compared with the control group in all VMS ( P <.05). Furthermore, the posttest PSQI score of the laughter yoga group was significantly lower than that of the control group ( P <.05). Although there was no significant difference in the pretest and posttest scores obtained by the control group from the VAS and PSQI ( P >.05), the intervention group exhibited a statistically significant difference in their pretest and posttest VAS and PSQI scores ( P <.05; P <.001, respectively). The results indicate that laughter yoga is an effective method for reducing VMS and improving sleep quality.

Effect of laughter yoga and mucuna pruriens seeds in alzheimer's disease patients in south delhi population

The effect of laughter yoga on perceived stress, burnout, and life satisfaction in nurses during the pandemic: A randomized controlled trial

The effect of laughter yoga on loneliness, psychological resilience, and quality of life in older adults: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

A growing body of evidence suggests that there is a link between laughter and memory. However, no research has been done to show a link between simulated laughter (laughter yoga) and the enhancement of working memory. Because laughter has numerous benefits, we examined whether simulated laughter can improve healthy adults’ working memory (WM). A total of 30 participants (15 experimental and 15 control) were enrolled in this study. The research design was experimental and pretest-posttest with a control group. Participants in the laughter yoga intervention group had eight sessions twice a week for four weeks, whereas the control group received no intervention. We assessed all participants before and after laughter activity with the WM measures (Corsi Block Test and Digit Span). The laughter intervention programme focused on simulated laughter (laughter yoga) without relying on humour, jokes, or comedy. The results revealed a significant improvement in the memory of both visual and verbal WM performances in the experimental group after the intervention programme. In contrast, the study found no significant differences in the control group. Simulated laughter intervention is the easiest, practical, and cost-efficient method that seems to affect WM positively.

Effect of laughter yoga on salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone among healthy university students: A randomized controlled trial

Despite rigorous theoretical and clinical training, nursing students face emotional and academic challenges that can harm their well-being. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research investigating the impact of laughter yoga (LY) on nursing students' well-being, perceived stress, and self-efficacy. The aim of this single-blinded, two-armed randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effect of LY on nursing students' well-being, perceived stress, and academic self-efficacy (ASE). A total of five sessions of LY were applied to the intervention group. The analysis included a total of 83 nursing students (intervention group n = 41 and control group n = 42). Repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and paired-samples t-test were used for data analysis. Results revealed that the intervention group showed a significant increase in well-being (p< .001) and a decrease in perceived stress after LY (p< .01). However, statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups were not found in well-being, perceived stress, and ASE (p > .05). These results indicate the potential effects of LY on the students' well-being and perceived stress. Community mental health nurses and educators can use LY to improve well-being in universities.

The effect of laughter yoga on mental health, emotional, and cognitive functions of children: A systematic review.