So far, numerous researches on non-pharmacological
treatments for those degenerative changes have been
published. Among those non-pharmacological treatments,
laughter therapy is a noticeable psychotherapeutic
intervention for depression and dementia of the
elderly. Takeda et al.7 mentioned that laughter can be a
good and effective complementary and alternative intervention
in the treatment of dementia patients because
laughter is preserved in dementia patients. Laughter
therapy provides information on various ways of making
humor. It is cost-effective and it does not need any
special space nor special preparations. Freud (1905)8
mentioned that humor can be seen as a specific defense
mechanism, by which positive emotions can overcome
the undesirable negative emotions involved in a stressful
situation. One very early report by Paskind et al.9 examined
the impact of laughter upon muscle tone. It was
demonstrated that intense laughter led to decreased
skeletal muscle tone or relaxation of muscle groups.
This report was the first research on the physiology of
laughter. Since then, several studies concerning laughter
in the treatment of patients who are suffering from
psychiatric and physical diseases have been published;
improving of quality of life in patients with depression
or dementia,10 decreasing stress and increasing natural
killer cell activity11 and acting as moderator of stress
for depressive symptoms12 as examples. However, most
studies on laughter therapy are limited to disabled
patients with psychiatric diseases or cancer; there is a
lack of studies on community-dwelling elderly people in
spite of the effects of laughter.
Therefore, the purpose of this study
So far, numerous researches on non-pharmacological
treatments for those degenerative changes have been
published. Among those non-pharmacological treatments,
laughter therapy is a noticeable psychotherapeutic
intervention for depression and dementia of the
elderly. Takeda et al.7 mentioned that laughter can be a
good and effective complementary and alternative intervention
in the treatment of dementia patients because
laughter is preserved in dementia patients. Laughter
therapy provides information on various ways of making
humor. It is cost-effective and it does not need any
special space nor special preparations. Freud (1905)8
mentioned that humor can be seen as a specific defense
mechanism, by which positive emotions can overcome
the undesirable negative emotions involved in a stressful
situation. One very early report by Paskind et al.9 examined
the impact of laughter upon muscle tone. It was
demonstrated that intense laughter led to decreased
skeletal muscle tone or relaxation of muscle groups.
This report was the first research on the physiology of
laughter. Since then, several studies concerning laughter
in the treatment of patients who are suffering from
psychiatric and physical diseases have been published;
improving of quality of life in patients with depression
or dementia,10 decreasing stress and increasing natural
killer cell activity11 and acting as moderator of stress
for depressive symptoms12 as examples. However, most
studies on laughter therapy are limited to disabled
patients with psychiatric diseases or cancer; there is a
lack of studies on community-dwelling elderly people in
spite of the effects of laughter.
Therefore, the purpose of this study
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