Zero to 60 Laughs per Hour: Observed Laughter, Physical Health, Personality, and Well-Being in People Aged 67 to 95, an Exploratory Study

Abstract

Is the physiological act of laughing good for physical health? Or is it a sign of nervousness, people-pleasing agreeableness, or not taking life seriously? A review of the laughter measurement literature reveals that the frequency of laughter rarely has been measured, and never in a sample of adults over 65, the population that might reap the most from any benefit of laughter. We analyzed the correlations of unobtrusively observed laughter, with self-reported physical health, personality, and well-being, during face-to-face interviews with 82 rural, Canadian, senior-housing residents, aged 67 to 95. Twenty-one of them were over 90 years old. Participants laughed 0 to 60 times per hour, averaging 23 laughs per hour. This rate is consistent with observed laughter of younger adults, and much higher than any published self-reported laughter rate, by adults of any age. Laughter frequency was unrelated to physical health, well-being (mental health, satisfaction with life, positive or negative emotional experiences, stress, self-esteem), age, gender, and four of the five-factor-model personality dimensions: neuroticism (which includes nervousness), agreeableness, extraversion, and openness to experience. The fifth factor, conscientiousness, was negatively correlated with laughter, r_s = − 0.35, indicating that more conscientious people laughed less. Many of these results were unexpected, based on research showing extraverts laughing more, and older adults and men laughing less than younger adults and women. This study highlights the importance of observation over self-report for accurate measurement of laughter.