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Effects of Laughter Therapy on Depression and Sleep among Patients at
Long-term Care Hospitals
Han, Ji Hyoung MSN, RN 1 · Park, Kyung Min Ph.D., RN 2 · Park, Heeok Ph.D., RN2
1Department of Nursing Hosan University, Gyeongsan
2College of Nursing Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea
Purpose : The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of laughter therapy on depression and sleep among
patients at two long-term care (LTC) hospitals. Methods: Forty-two residents from two LTC hospitals participated
in this study. Twenty-one residents at one LTC hospital received the laugher therapy treatment and 21 at the other
LTC hospital received no treatment as a comparison group. The laugher therapy protocol consisted of singing funny
songs, laughing for diversion, stretching, playing with hands and dance routines, laughing exercises, healthy clap-
ping, and laughing aloud. The participants engaged in the protocol 40 minutes twice a week (Monday/Thursday)
for a total of eight sessions held in the patients’ lounge. Results: Findings showed that depression and sleep im-
proved in the treatment group compared to the comparison group (t=-7.12, p<.001; Z=-4.16, p<.001). Conclusion:
To improve depression and sleep among patients at LTC hospitals, offering laughter therapy strengthening physical
activities might be beneficial to patients.
Key W ords: Laughter, Depression, Sleep, Long-term care
Corres
p
ondin
g
author: Park, Heeo
k
College of Nursing Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeol-daero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
Tel: +82-53-580-3924, Fax: +82-53-580-3916, E-mail: hopark@kmu.ac.kr
- This manuscript is extracted from JiHyoung Han's master's thesis.
Received: Jun 5, 2017 / Revised: Oct 7, 2017 / Accepted: Oct 23, 2017
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Korean Journal of Adult Nursing (Korean J Adult Nurs)
Vol. 29 No. 5, 560-568, October 2017
ISSN 1225-4886 (Print) / ISSN 2288-338X (Online)
https://doi.org/10.7475/kjan.2017.29.5.560
INTRODUCTION
The number of older adults in the need of long term
care (LTC) has led to the increase number of LTC hospitals
which increased from 819 in 2010 to 1,342 in 2015[1].
Almost 80% of patients at LTC hospitals remain in treat-
ment for more than two years. Patients at LTC hospitals re-
port having problems with self-control, loneliness, social
isolation, and anxiety leading to depression [2]. For in-
stance, almost 50% of patients at LTC hospitals exhibit
more than three symptoms of depression [1]. Often de-
pression occurs among older adults with physical disease.
It is difficult to recognize symptoms of depression; thus,
early detection and intervention in older adults is im-
portant [3].
Depression is related to the delay of sleep latency, sleep
deficiency, and reduced sleep quality. Older adults with
sleep problems exhibit more depressive symptoms than
those without sleep problems.[4]. Patients at LTC hospi-
tals already have a compromised physical status, thus
leading to a low level of physical activities and, thus a de-
lay in sleep latency. Participating in health promotion pro-
grams including physical activities decreases depressive
symptoms and improves sleep quality [5]. Almost 36~61%
of older adults in hospitals complained of sleep problems
[6]. Older adults in LTC hospitals report that the quality of
their sleep is compromised compared to the home-dwell-
ing older adults [7]. At times, the low quality of sleep
among older adults is misunderstood as a normal aging
process rather than sleep problems [3].
At LTC hospitals, medications are used to improve de-
pression and the quality of sleep among older adults.
However, the side effects of drowsiness during the day, re-
duced cognition, a high risk of falls, and medication toler-
ⓒ 2017 Korean Society of Adult Nursing http://www.ana.or.kr
Vol. 29 No. 5, 2017 561
Laughter Therapy For Depression and Sleep Problems
Assessed for eligibility (N=42)
Finally included (n=18)
• Drop out (n=3)
- Discharged (n=1)
- No participating in the post-test (n=2)
Comparison group (n=21)Treatment gr ou p (n=21)
• Drop out (n=2)
- Missed laugher therapy 2 sessions
Finally included (n=19)
Figure 1. Flowchart of participants included for data analysis.
ance suggest that other interventions should be consid-
ered [8]. For example, non-pharmacological interventions
including aromatherapy, music intervention, art therapy,
laughter therapy may be introduced. The advantages of
laughter therapy are that it is cost-effective, does not re-
quire high technology, and is not limited to a specific time
and place [9]. While laughing, endorphins and serotonin,
which control anxiety and depression, are secreted [10,11].
Especially, laughing aloud with whole body movements
improves blood circulation. There is evidence to support
that emotional relaxation and the quality of sleep will be
improved [12].
Previous studies of laughter therapy investigate the ef-
fects of the therapy on vital signs, anxiety, depression, sleep
and quality of life [12-15]. These reported studies were
limited to community-dwelling older adults [12-15]. Pre-
vious studies reported consistent positive effects on de-
pression, but not on sleep [16]. Previous studies showing
the lack of a consistent effect on sleep suggested that inter-
ventions improving sleep require more active movements
to enhance the upper and lower extremities and torso
movements and increased physical activity time. In this
study, the research design took into account the recommen-
dations from the reviewed studies. That is, there was an ef-
fort to utilize physical movement including stretching,
dance routines, and activities to express the pleasure and
laugh is reinforced. Specifically, the purpose of this study
was to investigate the effects of laughter therapy on de-
pression and quality of sleep among older adults living in
LTC hospitals. The hypotheses in this study are as follows:
1. Hypotheses
Patients at LTC hospitals who participate in the laugh-
ter therapy(the treatment group) will report lower de-
pression scores than those who do not receive it(the
comparison group).
Patients at LTC hospitals who participate in the treat-
ment group will report better sleep quality than the
comparison group.
METHODS
1. Study Design
A nonequivalent design was utilized in this study. The
purpose of the study was to identify the effects of laughter
therapy on reported depression and quality of sleep among
older adults living in a LTC hospital.
2. Setting and Samples
A non-probability convenience sample was used. A to-
tal of 42 individuals from two different LTC hospitals
were used. Specifically, the treatment group was from
Hangeul Hospital located in Daegu city and the compar-
ison group was drawn from Suseong hospital located in
Daegu city in Korea. The power calculation based on
Cohen’s effect size formula [17], t-test, using power .80, ef-
fect size .50, and
⍺
=.05, group=2, showed a total of 34 par-
ticipants (17 for each group). The rationale for setting the
effect size as .50 was that differences in means and stand-
ard deviations between the treatment and comparison
groups were high in the previous study [18]. Considering
a 20% dropout rate, a total of 42 participants (21 in the
treatment group and 21 in the comparison group) were re-
cruited for the study. During the study, five participants
withdrew (2 for personal reasons in the treatment group;
562 Kor ean Jour nal of A dult N u r sin g
Han, Ji Hyoung·Park, Kyung Min· Park, Heeok
one discharge and two with no measurement data in the
comparison group). Finally, 37 participants were included
in the analysis (Figure 1).
The participants that met the following inclusion cri-
teria were included in the study. Those who are aged 65
and older; staying at a LTC hospital; able to communicate
(scoring >18 on the Mini-Mental State Examination for
Koreans [MMSE-K])[19]; exhibiting light depression (scor-
ing > 5 on the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form
―
Korea [GDSSF-K])[20]; and having sleep problems (scor-
ing > 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
―
Korea
[PSQI-K])[21] were recruited.
3. Development of the Intervention (Treatment Group)
The initial design of the protocol was developed based
on Han’s laughter therapy [22]. In the initial protocol sev-
en activities were included: 1) singing funny songs, 2)
laughing for diversion, 3) stretching, 4) playing with hands
and dance routines, 5) laughing exercise, 6) healthy clap-
ping, and 7) laughing aloud. The initial design consisted
of therapy for 60 minutes per session. The protocol was
reviewed by six health professionals familiar with laugh-
ter therapy to improve the validity of the protocol. Includ-
ed among the six health professionals were one nursing
faculty, three nurses from nursing homes, and two instruc-
tors skilled in laughter therapy. The recommended mod-
ifications were: 1) simplifying fast movements and in-
creasing the physical movements in the ‘laughing for di-
version’ area and 2) adding exercises of the upper and
lower extremities to the ‘laughing exercise’ area. The ra-
tionale for simplifying the fast movements was the resi-
dents’ physical health status. Additionally, the exercises
for upper and lower extremities were added because in-
creased physical activities are supposed to improve sleep.
The second revision of the protocol was based on the
findings of the pilot study. Ten patients participated in the
pilot study. Based on the results of the pilot study, the
therapy protocol was modified as follows: 1) stretching,
healthy clapping, and laughing out loud were repeated
without any change every session and were easy to follow;
2) the length of each therapy session was reduced from 60
minutes to 40 minutes because a length of 60 minutes
made it difficult for residents to participate; and 3) lecture
time without any activity was added as break time in the
middle of each session to prevent fatigue. Finally, the final
form of laughter therapy simplified the fast movements
and added exercises of upper and lower extremities.
The structure of the final laughter therapy is presented
in Table 1. The laughter therapy included introduction,
main, and closing stages. The introduction stage was in-
tended to increase the sense of closeness and motivation to
participate and lasted for five minutes. A sense of close-
ness was fostered with light hugs/handshakes and com-
pliments. The main stage of the laughter therapy lasted for
25 minutes and included singing funny songs, laughing
for diversion, stretching, playing with hands and dance
routines, lecture, laughing exercises, healthy clapping, and
laughing aloud. “Singing funny songs” consisted of sing-
ing songs such as Namheangyeolcha (a south-bound train),
spring of hometown, and wind of winter. “Laughing for
diversion” consisted of laughing while complimenting the
positive qualities of other participants, thankful laughing,
mirror laughing and you are the best laughing. The lecture
topic was related to laughing and consisted of the effects of
laughing, effective laughing methods, thankful laughing,
emotional expression, laughing practice, and habits. The
closing stage was for relaxation and the maintenance of a
positive mood for 10 minutes and included positive medi-
tation, expression of thoughts and feelings, and saying
goodbye.
Each session occurred at 2 pm for 40 minutes twice a
week (Monday/Thursday) with a total of eight sessions in
the lounge of the LTC hospital provided by four research
assistants (1 laugher therapist, 1 nurse, 1 social worker, and
1 nurse aid). The laughter therapist is certified by the Inter-
national Association of Laughter Therapy Inc.
4. Measurements
The demographic data collected included age, gender,
education, medical diagnosis, medication types, and du-
ration of hospitalization. The levels of cognition, activ-
ities of daily living, depression, and sleep quality were
measured.
1) Cognition
Cognition level was measured using the MMSE-K
[19]. The MMSE-K was modified from Folstein and col-
league’s MMSE [23]. The MMSE-K includes six areas:
time and place orientation, memory registration, atten-
tion and calculation, memory recall, language, and under-
standing/comprehension. Possible scores on the MMSE-K
range from 0 to 30 and are classified into three groups by
score: normal (
≥
24), inadequate (20~23), and poor (
≤
19). The Cronbach’s
⍺
for the original MMSE was .99, and
the Cronbach’s
⍺
for the MMSE-K in this study was .80.
2) Activities of daily living
Activities of daily living were measured using the Kore-
Vol. 29 No. 5, 2017 563
Laughter Therapy For Depression and Sleep Problems
Table 1. Contents of Laughter Therapy
Session Contents Time (mins)
Introduction Light hugs/handshakes, laughing, complementing 5
Session 1~8
Main stage
Session 1
Singing funny songs: 'namheangyeolcha', laughing for diversion:
'laughing while complementing the positive qualities of other participants'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'the effects of laughing'
Laughing exercises
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 2
Singing funny songs: 'namheangyeolcha', laughing for diversion:
'laughing while complementing the positive qualities of other participants'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'effective laughing methods'
Laughing exercises,
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 3
Singing funny songs: 'the spring of home town', laughing for diversion: 'thankful laughing'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'becomes happy with laughing'
Laughing exercises,
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 4
Singing funny songs: 'the spring of home town', laughing for diversion: 'thankful laughing'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'force a laugh becomes real laughing'
Laughing exercises
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 5
Singing funny songs: 'wind of winter', laughing for diversion: 'mirror laughing'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'emotional expression'
Laughing exercises
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 6
Singing funny songs: 'wind of winter', laughing for diversion: 'mirror laughing'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'complementing a positive things'
Laughing exercises
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 7
Singing funny songs: 'namheangyeolcha', 'the spring of home town'
laughing for diversion: 'you are the best laughing'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'even when happy or boring'
Laughing exercises
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Main stage
Session 8
Singing funny songs: 'wind of winter'. 'the spring of home town',
laughing for diversion: 'you are the best laughing'
Stretching, playing with hands & dance routines
Lecture: 'laughing is practice and habit'
Laughing exercises
Healthy clapping, laughing out loud
5
5
5
5
5
Closing stage
Session 1~8
Positive meditation
Expression of thoughts and feelings, saying good-bye
5
5
564 Kor ean Jour nal of A dult N u r sin g
Han, Ji Hyoung·Park, Kyung Min· Park, Heeok
an Activities of Daily Living (K-ADL) [24]. The K-ADL
consists of seven items and ranges from 1 (without any
difficulty) to 3 (unable to do). Lower scores indicated
higher ADL. The Cronbach’s
⍺
for the original K-ADL
was .93, and the Cronbach’s
⍺
for this study was .86.
3) Depression
Depression was measured using the GDSSF-K [20]. The
original GDSSF was developed by Yesavage and Sheikh
[25] and was translated into Korean (GDSSF-K) by Kee
[20]. The GDSSF-K includes 15 items. Possible scores on
the GDSSF-K range from 0 to 15 and are classified into
three groups by score: normal (
≤
4), mild (5~9), and severe
(
≥
10). Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression.
The Cronbach’s
⍺
for the original GDSSF-K was .88, and
the Cronbach’s
⍺
for the GDSSF-K in the current study
was .75.
4) Sleep
Sleep was measured using the PSQI-K [21]. The origi-
nal PSQI was developed by Buysse and colleagues [20]
and was translated into Korean (PSQI-K) by Choi and
colleagues [21]. The PSQI-K is composed of 18 questions
and assesses seven categories: subjective sleep quality,
sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency,
sleep disturbance, use of sleep medication, and daytime
dysfunction. The PSQI-K ranges from 0 to 21, and scoring
more than five indicates sleep problems. Higher scores in-
dicate lower sleep quality. The Cronbach’s
⍺
of the origi-
nal PSQI was .83, and the Cronbach’s
⍺
of the PSQI-K in
the current study was .73.
5. Data collection
The participants were recruited at two LTC hospitals in
Daegu city, Korea. The first LTC hospital was allocated to
the treatment group and the second LTC hospital was allo-
cated to the comparison group based on each LTC hospi-
tals’ choice. The two LTC hospitals with similar sizes of
150 beds, were built within two years, and did not provide
any other programs related to depression and sleep. Un-
der the cooperation with the LTC directors, primary inves-
tigator (PI) was able to contact the patients and explained
about study purpose, contents and procedures, and bene-
fits and risks of this study participation. A written consent
was obtained from each participant if they agreed to par-
ticipate in this study.
After the written consent was obtained, demographic
data, cognition, ADL, depression, and sleep were meas-
ured by the PI prior to the laughter therapy in the treat-
ment and comparison groups. Cognition was the MMSE-K
scores obtained from the electronic medical record data.
Depression and sleep were measured by the PI immedi-
ately following the eighth session of laughter therapy. The
residents in the comparison group received standard care
without laughter therapy and a CD of laughter therapy
was provided after the study is completed.
6. Ethical Considerations
This study was reviewed and approved by Keimyung
University Institutional Review Board (No. 40525-201505-
HR-38-02). Data collection began after obtaining the ap-
proval. Participants were informed that they could with-
draw anytime during the study participation without any
consequences. All data and consent forms were stored in a
locked file cabinet in the PI’s office.
7. Data Analysis
The data analysis was performed using the SPSS Statis-
tics 22.0 program. Descriptive statistics were used to de-
scribe participants’ demographic characteristics. To test
the homogeneity of participants’ characteristics, cognition,
ADL, depression, and sleep between the two groups, t-test,
x
2 test, and Mann-Whitey U test were used. Kolmogrov-
Smirnov was used to check the normal distribution of de-
pression and sleep level. To compare the effects of laugher
therapy on depression between the two groups paired
t-test, independent t-test was used. To compare the effects
of laugher therapy on sleep between the two groups,
Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test, and Mann-
Whitney U test were used because the sleep level did not
follow the normal distribution.
RESULTS
1. Participant Characteristics
The findings of the participant characteristics are pre-
sented in Table 2. In the treatment group, 57.9% of them
were male and 63.2% were under the age of 80. Those par-
ticipants who had less than an elementary school educa-
tion were 57.9%, had a cerebrocardiovascular disease were
47.4%. 26.3% of them were taking sleeping pills and 26.3%
were taking antidepressants. 57.9% of them had been at the
LTC hospital for less than 1 year. Cognition and ADL lev-
els were 26.47±2.86 and 12.00±3.63, respectively. In the
comparison group, 55.6% of the participants were female
and 55.6% were under age 80. Those participants who had
Vol. 29 No. 5, 2017 565
Laughter Therapy For Depression and Sleep Problems
Table 2. Characteristics of Participants at the Long-term Care Hospitals (N=37)
Characteristics Categories
Treatment group
(n=19)
Comparison group
(n=18)
x
2 or t or Z p
n(%)/M±SD n(%)/M±SD
Gender Male
Female
11 (57.9)
8 (42.1)
8 (44.4)
10 (55.6)
0.67 .313
Age (year) 65~79
≥80
12 (63.2)
7 (36.8)
10 (55.6)
8 (44.4)
0.22 .446
Education ≤Elementary school
≥Middle school
11 (57.9)
8 (42.1)
13 (72.2)
5 (27.8)
0.83 .286
Medical diagnosis CVD
MCI
Others†
9 (47.4)
4 (21.0)
6 (31.6)
8 (44.4)
3 (16.7)
7 (38.9)
0.25 .882
Sleeping pills‡Yes
No
5 (26.3)
14 (73.7)
6 (33.3)
12 (66.7)
0.22 .457
Antidepressants Yes
No
5 (26.3)
14 (73.7)
5 (27.8)
13 (72.2)
0.01 .605
Hospitalization ≤1 year
＞1 year
11 (57.9)
8 (42.1)
11 (61.1)
7 (38.9)
0.04 .554
Cognition 26.47±2.86 25.94±2.62 -0.59 .562
ADL 12.00±3.63 10.83±2.68 -1.35 .179
Depression 8.37±1.54 8.17±1.98 -0.35 .730
Sleep 8.98±3.08 9.22±3.39 -0.28§.783
CVD=cerebrocardiovascular disease; MCI=mild cognitive impairment; ADL=activity of daily living; †Parkinson's disease, cancer, arthritis,
fracture, diabetes mellitus, Sjogren's syndrome; ‡Lunapam, Stilnox; §Mann-Whitney U test.
less than an elementary school education were 72.2% and
had cerebrocardiovascular disease were 44.4%. 33.3% of
them were taking sleeping pills and 27.8% were taking
antidepressants. 61.1% of them had been at the LTC hospi-
tal for less than 1 year. Cognition and ADL levels were
25.94±2.62 and 10.89±2.68, respectively. There were no
significant differences in the participants’ characteristics,
cognition, ADL, depression, and sleep between the two
groups prior to therapy. In both groups, prescribed medi-
cations were not changed throughout the study period.
2. Depression
Changes in depression in both groups are presented in
Table 3. In the treatment group, the depression level was
8.37 prior to the laughter therapy and decreased to 5.32, in-
dicating light depression, when the therapy ended. The
depression decreased significantly at posttest compared to
the baseline in the treatment group (t=8.96, p<.001). In the
comparison group, the depression level was 8.17 and de-
creased to 7.94, indicating light depression. The depres-
sion did not decrease significantly at posttest compared to
the baseline in the comparison group (t=0.81, p=.429).
There was a significant difference in depression between
the two groups (t=-7.12, p<.001).
3. Sleep
The changes in sleep in both groups are also presented
in Table 3. In the treatment group, sleep level was 8.68 pri-
or to the therapy and decreased to 6.53 after the therapy.
Sleep decreased significantly at posttest compared to the
baseline in the treatment group (z=-3.62, p<.001). In the
comparison group, sleep level was 9.22 and decreased to
8.83. There was a significant difference in sleep between
the two groups (z=-4.16, p<.001). Sleep had not decreased
significantly at posttest compared to the baseline in the
comparison group (z=-0.88, p=.378). There was a signifi-
cant difference in sleep between the two groups (z=-4.16,
p<.001).
DISCUSSION
This study investigated the effects of laughter therapy
566 Kor ean Jour nal of A dult N u r sin g
Han, Ji Hyoung·Park, Kyung Min· Park, Heeok
Table 3. Difference in Depression and Sleep between the Two Groups (N=37)
Variables Groups Pretest Posttest Difference Paired t or Z pt or Z p
M±SD M±SD M±SD
Depression Treatment (n=19)
Comparison (n=18)
8.37±1.54
8.17±1.98
5.32±1.20
7.94±2.49
-3.05±1.31
-0.22±1.17
8.96
0.81
＜.001
.429
7.12 ＜.001
Sleep Treatment (n=19)
Comparison (n=18)
8.68±3.38
9.22±3.39
6.53±2.34
8.83±3.13
-2.42±1.22
-0.39±0.92
-3.62†
-0.88†
＜.001
.378
4.16‡＜.001
†Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test; ‡Mann-Whitney U test.
on depression and sleep quality for residents at LTC hos-
pitals, and the results showed that depression and sleep
quality were improved. Previous studies involving laugh-
ter therapy were performed among older adults living in
the community and showed similar effects on depression
[12,14]. Laughing affects the secretion of physiological
stress hormones and of serotonin and endorphins and al-
so reduces depression [10,11]. Laughing increases the
ability to control negative situations such as stress and to
convert negative emotions such as depression into pos-
itive emotions.
However, some previous studies showed no significant
effect from laughter therapy on depression [13,26]. In
those studies, the therapy was provided only once a week,
and the they suggested the importance of providing the
therapy more than once a week to improve depression.
Therefore, this study provided the therapy twice a week
for a total of eight sessions. The pilot study was originally
offered for 60 minutes, and the older adults complained
that 60 minutes of operation time is strenuous to older
adults and suggested 40 minutes as appropriate for the
laughter therapy in this study. In further studies involving
laughter therapy, the residents’ physical status and atten-
tion should be taken into consideration.
In this study, participants were screened using GDSSF-K
and evaluated as having or not having mild depression.
Prior to the therapy, the residents showed mild-moderate
levels of depression, but the level decreased to a mild level
when the therapy was completed. Therefore, the laughter
therapy could be considered an important therapy to im-
prove depression in LTC hospitals.
This study showed positive effects of laughter therapy
on sleep for patients at LTC hospitals whereas previous
studies did not show consistent results. While some stud-
ies on laughter therapy showed positive effects on sleep
for home-dwelling patients or vulnerable populations,
other studies showed no significant effect on sleep in pa-
tients with dialysis or hospitalized patients [16,27]. Lee
and colleagues [16,27] assumed that the lack of a signifi-
cant effect from laughter therapy on sleep was because the
therapy was more focused on laughing. Because sleep has
a significant correlation with physical activity, adding ex-
ercises of upper and lower extremities to the therapy ap-
peared to improve sleep in this study. In the sub-catego-
ries of sleep, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep
duration, habitual sleep efficiency and daytime dysfunc-
tion were significantly improved with laughter therapy,
but sleep disturbance and medication use were not. Sleep
disturbance is a serious problem in LTC hospitals [28]. The
amount of medication used to improve sleep in the treat-
ment group was lower than in the comparison group,
though the difference was not significant. For better sleep
with less taking sleeping medications, the contents of
laughter therapy need to be reviewed and modified for
patients at LTC hospitals.
It is meaningful that the results of this study supported
the value of laughter therapy on depression and sleep. The
therapy included more intense physical activities to in-
crease the effect of laughter therapy on sleep. Laughter
therapy is originally defined as “expressing the pleasure
to laughing using the physical body, make physical, psy-
chological and social relationship with others healthy and
help improving quality of life”[29]. Physical activity is of-
ten defined as “the movement of the body by the skeletal
muscle following energy consumption”[5]. Thus, the
laughter therapy is similar with physical activity in terms
of using physical body, but it is distinguished from the
physical activity in terms of using physical body to ex-
press the pleasure to laugh. Based on the findings, laugh-
ter therapy strengthening physical activities must be pro-
vided more than two times a week to improve depression
and sleep among patients in LTC hospitals.
The limitations of this study were as follows. First, this
study was conducted at two LTC hospitals. Therefore, it
requires careful generalization of the study results. Fur-
ther, the two groups of participants were drawn from separ-
ate hospitals and there may be differences in the two groups
that may account for the findings. The PSQI-K to measure
sleep used in this study was based on the participants’ mem-
ory and self-reporting during the past month; hence, the in-
Vol. 29 No. 5, 2017 567
Laughter Therapy For Depression and Sleep Problems
strument must be changed to consider the short-term me-
mory of older adults and to increase the validity and reli-
ability of the study findings. In the past, laughter therapy
was mostly provided to reduce depression among older
adults. However, in this study, the laughter therapy en-
hanced physical activities (from exercise with upper and
lower extremities) in the “laughing exercise” area; there-
fore, the laughter therapy improved sleep as well as de-
pression. Therefore, for the older adults with depression
and sleep problems at LTC hospitals, laughter therapy re-
inforcing physical activities can be considered to decrease
depression and sleep problems.
CONCLUSION
This study showed that laughter therapy with more in-
tense physical activities reduced depression and improved
sleep among the participants in the LTC hospitals. To im-
prove depression and sleep quality in older adults, laugh-
ter therapy strengthening physical activities might be ben-
eficial if it can be offered more than two times a week. The
findings of this study suggest that laughter therapy must
enhance more physical activities to improve depression
and sleep.
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