Would you drag yourself out of bed at 7am every morning to laugh your head off on the telephone with a group of total strangers? And would you pay £6 a month for the privilege? This is just one of the services people around the country are signing up for – a sure sign that in Britain, laughter is becoming an industry.
It might be one of the least serious of human activities, but corporations, schools, behavioural experts, religious leaders and health workers are suddenly desperate to get people chuckling more.
As a growing body of research demonstrates the health benefits of a good cackle, the number of people flocking to “laughter yoga” sessions, festivals, telephone clubs, laughter-fuelled religious services and workshops is growing.
The UK’s Laughter Network – largely made up of trained laughter yoga teachers, social workers and mental health professions – has more than tripled in membership since it was launched nine years ago.
Major companies such as Barclays and consultancy firm Ernst & Young have reportedly signed employees up to laughter workshops – which can charge corporate rates of up to £500 an hour – while “giggle doctors” have attended hospitals across the country.
“Laughter is more than just laughter – it’s not just silly,” said Lotte Mikkelson, a laughter yoga trainer who has coached more than 600 teachers in Britain and laughs with anything from 20 to 40 people each day in her non-telephone club. “To maintain the physiological changes and benefits we get from it, we need to do it every day,” she added. “We’re frowned upon in society if we do big, roaring belly laughs, but laughter club is a safe space to really laugh from the belly; you really get an exchange of air, it jogs internal organs, and you benefit physically.”
The science seems to back her up. Research by the University of Arizona has suggested that laughter yoga – an Indian tradition which mixes yoga breathing techniques and forced giggling sessions – could have the potential to improve mood and stabilise heart rates in patients awaiting organ transplants..........
