An international analysis has shown how humour, used as a real hospital therapy, alleviates symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression in long-term chronic patients such as children who have just undergone surgery or even elderly people in nursing homes. The research was conducted internationally and published in the journal 'Brain and Behavior'.
Basically, it was a review of the existing literature (quantitative, qualitative and mixed studies). Thus, in addition to existing papers, as many as 29 articles were included, involving 2964 participants, conducted in nine different countries, such as the United States, Australia, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, Iran, Israel, China and Germany.
The majority of patients, the study authors suggest, stated that humour therapy had positive effects in reducing anxiety and depression, compared to a small number of subjects who found this approach to be insignificant.