Centre of Excellence.

At Laughter Lab we demonstrate a passion to inform and educate about the power of laughter.  We believe that mounting evidence on the effects and influence of laughter should inform our wellbeing strategies in workplaces.   Taking laughter seriously at work should be intentional and well-informed.  This involves integrity in the interpretation of evidence and comment around laughter.

What does this mean in practice?

Our approach is built on three key pillars:

1) Being scientifically curious about the power of laughter.

What does the research tell us?

We are strong on curiosity.  Laughter research is in it’s infancy.  Laughter is a social emotion, a behaviour expressing a sense of fun.  It is complex and studied in many academic arenas, from behavioural science to neuroscience.  Examples of people currently writing about laughter are Robin Dunbar, anthropology professor from Oxford, an expert on human connection and Jennifer Aaker & Naomi Bagdonas who teach a module at the Stanford graduate school of business entitled Humor:Serious Business. 

2) Undertaking research on laughter yoga.

Contributing to the body of research.

Laughter yoga combines laughter exercises which produce laughter independent of humour with deep breathing exercises.  We gather and analyse data from laughter yoga participants.

Read our paper published in the European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology: No laughing matter: Qualitative study of the impact of laughter yoga suggests stress inoculation here .

3) Collaborating with others working with innovative organisations

We share our experience and expertise to increase knowledge about the appropriate application of laughter and levity in the workplace. Conducting internal research is often a valuable first step in creating bespoke sustainable solutions for individuals and organisations who are actively looking for more laughter.