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Source – Natural News
by Zoey Sky, November 5th, 2018
The authors posit that this special program may help improve the quality of life and mood of patients who need to undergo regular hemodialysis treatments.
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The researchers wanted to assess the influence of a simulated laughter program on hemodialysis patients’ cortisol levels, health-related quality of life, and mood.
In the study, patients took part in a special four-week simulated laughter program. The researchers observed a group made up of 40 patients. (Related: Don’t Take Life Too Seriously – A Healthy Sense of Humor May Prolong Your Life.)
The laughter group included 20 randomly assigned participants while another set of 20 patients were also randomly assigned to a control group. In the first group, 11 participants finished the laughter program after hemodialysis sessions. At the end of the program, 18 members of the control group remained.
For the four-week simulated laughter program, the hemodialysis patients took part in weekly 60-minute group sessions. The participants joined different various activities such as:
- Breathing
- Daily 15-second individual laughter sessions (these were done over the telephone)
- Meditation
- Simulated laughter
- Stretching exercises
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Based on data gathered from the study, the scientists are hopeful that the simulated laughter program can soon be used to improve the health-related quality of life and mood of other hemodialysis patients.
The study, titled “The effects of a simulated laughter programme on mood, cortisol levels, and health-related quality of life among haemodialysis patients,” was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.