{"id":8473,"date":"2026-04-26T00:35:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T00:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8473"},"modified":"2026-04-26T00:35:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T00:35:47","slug":"laughter-is-the-best-medicine-how-a-good-belly-laugh-could-help-your-gut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8473","title":{"rendered":"Laughter is the best medicine! How a good belly laugh could help your gut"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By MEIKE LEONARD, HEALTH REPORTER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published:<\/span>

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It’s long been said that laughter is the best medicine – but experts now think it has a particularly reparative effect on the gut.<\/p>\n

A growing body of research links frequent laughter to benefits such as a boosted immune system, reduced stress levels and stronger abdominal muscles.<\/p>\n

Studies even show that laughing for ten minutes a day can burn up to 50 calories. Now, experts say that giggling may carry similar benefits for gut health.<\/p>\n

‘Laughter isn’t just emotional, it triggers physical responses in the body,’ says Adrienne Benjamin gut nutritionist at ProVen Biotics.<\/p>\n

‘When we laugh our abdominal muscles contract and relax, helping digestive activity. And it promotes relaxation and releases endorphins, which can help relieve pain.<\/p>\n

‘The gentle ‘internal massage’ created by laughter can help support peristalsis, encouraging movement through the digestive tract, even releasing trapped gas.’<\/p>\n

Past research found laughter cut gastrointestinal symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients more than certain medications.<\/p>\n

And a 2022 study revealed laughter with family and friends was inversely linked to functional dyspepsia – a chronic disorder causing persistent indigestion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Research <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Research links frequent laughter to benefits such as a boosted immune system, reduced stress levels and stronger abdominal muscles<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But it is not just the physical effect of laughter that may help digestive issues.<\/p>\n

Benjamin adds: ‘Stress is widely recognised as a key factor affecting gut health, with tension disrupting digestion, altering gut motility and affecting the gut microbiome.<\/p>\n

‘In today’s fast-paced environment, laughter offers a natural and accessible way to help counteract these effects.<\/p>\n

‘When we laugh, the body shifts into a more relaxed state, which helps reduce stress hormones and supports the digestive system, which functions best when we’re calm and at ease.<\/p>\n

‘By helping regulate the body’s stress response, laughter encourages a shift from the ‘fight or flight’ state into ‘rest and digest’ – the mode in which the gut can function optimally.<\/p>\n

Even brief moments of humour can interrupt cycles of tension, offering a reset that benefits mind and digestive system.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n Laughter is the best medicine! How a good belly laugh could help your gut<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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By MEIKE LEONARD, HEALTH REPORTER Published: 20:24 EDT, 25 April 2026 | Updated: 20:28 EDT, 25 April 2026 It’s long been said that laughter is the best medicine – but experts now think it has a particularly reparative effect on the gut. A growing body of research links frequent laughter to benefits such as a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}