Scientists have found a chuckle-inducing exercise may be more effective at improving the symptoms of dry eye disease than eye drops.
The research, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that laughter could be used as a low-cost initial treatment for the disease.
Dry eye disease (DED) is a chronic condition estimated to affect about 360 million individuals worldwide, with symptoms including uncomfortable, red, scratchy or irritated eyes.
“As a safe, environmentally-friendly, and low-cost intervention, laughter exercise could serve as a first-line, home-based treatment for people with symptomatic dry eye disease and limited corneal staining,” the research team said.
Previous research has found that laughter therapy can alleviate depression, anxiety, stress, and chronic pain, and the team from Sun Yat-sen university, China, set out to discover whether this also held true for DED.
The average score indicating the level of eye discomfort was 10.5 points lower in the laughter exercise group
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Half of the 283 adults taking part in the research were randomly assigned to complete a laughter exercise, or use a 0.1 per cent sodium hyaluronic eye drops four times a day for eight weeks.
Those undertaking the laughter exercise watched an instructional video, and then repeated the phrases: “Hee hee hee, hah hah hah, cheese cheese cheese, cheek cheek cheek, hah hah hah hah hah hah.”
They repeated this 30 times per five minute session, using an app to standardise the exercise and “enhance facial movements”.
Both treatments stopped at eight weeks and the level of discomfort they felt was measured at ten and 12 weeks.
The average score indicating the level of eye discomfort was 10.5 points lower in the laughter exercise group — meaning their eyes were less uncomfortable than those using the standard eye drops.
Those who spent two months laughing also reported a positive impact on their mental health, the researchers said, and showed “significant” improvements on the time it took the cornea to dry out and the function of the oil glands in the eye, which prevent tears from evaporating too quickly.
Research presented at the European Respiratory Society congress in Vienna earlier this week also found laughter to be healing, and children seriously ill in hospital with pneumonia made a faster recovery after a visit from specially-trained medical clowns.
The team, from Carmel Medical Centre in Israel found that it also reduced the treatment time needed for intravenous antibiotics.
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