Laughter therapy eases breathlessness in a small COPD trial

At Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, a breathing exercise can start with the sound of a motorcycle starting—or a lion’s roar. Those playful drills belonged to a laughter-therapy program tested by Dr. Goncagul Aldan and colleagues in a clinical trial of 63 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona, the results showed less breathlessness than with no breathing exercises, with laughter therapy performing as effectively as traditional pursed-lip breathing.

Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: laughter therapy, established pursed-lip breathing, or no breathing exercises. Pursed-lip breathing means breathing in through the nose and breathing out slowly through lips held narrowly together. That gentle back pressure can help release stale air trapped in diseased lungs, slow the breathing rate, and give patients more control over exhalation.

The laughter sessions combined rhythmic clapping with vocal sounds, playful laughter such as mimicking a motorcycle starting or a lion’s roar, laughter meditation, and relaxation with calm breathing and smiling. Patients practiced for 30 minutes, three times per week, for eight weeks, supported by a video call and text messages. Researchers assessed breathing difficulties, overall health, and the amount of day-to-day care patients needed before, during, and after the program.

After treatment, both exercise groups had less difficulty breathing and better overall health than the no-exercise group. The improvement in breathlessness was sustained a month after the program ended, although there was no difference in how much care patients needed. Dr. Marc Miravitlles, a European Respiratory Society vice president who was not involved, described the study as small but well run. Aldan says the mechanism behind laughter therapy remains poorly understood and calls for larger, international studies.

For people living with COPD, the concrete change is access to another home-based option that requires no equipment or specialist support. The researchers present laughter therapy as a possible addition to medication and pulmonary rehabilitation, not a replacement for them. Its low cost and simple format make it practical to test further; the evidence so far comes from a small clinical trial, not a settled treatment standard.