Dry eye disease (DED) is a long-lasting condition that affects about 360 million people worldwide.
Symptoms often include red, irritated, scratchy, or uncomfortable eyes, which can make daily life difficult.
While eye drops are a common treatment, new research suggests that laughter might be just as effective for managing these symptoms.
Laughter therapy is already known to help with other health issues like depression, anxiety, stress, and even chronic pain. It’s also been found to boost the immune system.
However, scientists were curious if laughter could also help people with dry eye disease. To investigate this, researchers from China and the UK conducted a study to compare the effects of laughter exercise with eye drops in treating dry eye symptoms.
The study, published in The BMJ, involved 283 participants aged 18–45, with an average age of 29. The majority of participants (74%) were women.
These participants were split into two groups: one group practiced laughter exercises, while the other used eye drops containing 0.1% sodium hyaluronic acid, a common treatment for dry eyes. Both groups followed their assigned treatment for eight weeks.
The laughter group watched a video that guided them through a series of laughter exercises. These exercises involved repeating funny phrases like “Hee hee hee, hah hah hah, cheese cheese cheese” for five minutes. To make sure the exercises were done properly, participants used a mobile app that tracked their facial movements.
The eye drop group applied the drops four times a day for eight weeks, also using the app to track their usage. After eight weeks, the treatments were stopped, and the researchers measured how much discomfort the participants still had.
Surprisingly, both groups saw improvements. The average reduction in discomfort scores was 10.5 points for the laughter group and 8.83 points for the eye drop group. This small difference suggests that laughter therapy is just as effective as using eye drops for dry eye symptoms.
In addition, laughter therapy improved tear stability and mental health, with no reported side effects in either group.
The researchers noted a few limitations in the study, but overall, the results indicate that laughter exercise is a safe, affordable, and environmentally friendly way to manage dry eye disease. It could even become a first-line, home-based treatment option for people suffering from dry eyes.
