A funny exchange, a favourite comedy or an unexpected bit of silliness can bring a welcome moment of enjoyment into an ordinary or difficult day.
Making room for humour might mean watching something you like, sharing a story with a friend or noticing an amusing detail. It does not require being good at telling jokes.
Taste is personal. What makes one person laugh may leave another unmoved, so start with what you enjoy rather than what you think ought to be funny.
Humour can also be part of spending time together: a familiar story, a playful remark or a joke that only makes sense to the people sharing it.
You can enjoy a light moment while still taking a problem seriously. If humour does not fit how you feel, there is no need to force it or make light of something painful.
Making room for humour
Choose something that usually amuses you, or spend a little time with someone whose humour you enjoy. Let laughter happen if it comes, without making it a goal.
- Start with humour you already enjoy. Choose a favourite comedy, cartoon, podcast or funny passage in a book. Keep a few options handy for when you would like a short break.
- Share something with someone who might enjoy it. Send a clip or tell an amusing story, without expecting a particular response. Let their taste guide what you share next time.
- Make time for playful company. Watch something together, play a light-hearted game or catch up with someone whose humour you enjoy. There is no need to keep the conversation funny throughout.
- Be kind if you joke about yourself. You might find humour in a small mishap, but you do not owe anyone a joke at your expense. Avoid turning a mistake into a put-down about who you are.
- Notice when humour is welcome. Follow the other person’s lead, especially around grief, illness or distress. If a joke hurts or falls flat, acknowledge it and change course rather than pressing for a laugh.
Laughter in everyday company
Laughter is often part of ordinary conversation, rather than a response to a carefully told joke. A familiar remark or shared memory can be funny because of who you are with and what you know about each other.
Researcher Robert Provine studied laughter in everyday settings, drawing attention to its role in social interaction. His observations helped show why studying comedy alone gives an incomplete picture of when and why people laugh.
You might find this in your own close relationships: something unremarkable to an outsider becomes a source of shared amusement. That does not mean company always matters more than the material, or that you cannot enjoy humour alone.
Enjoyment without a prescription
Studies suggest that laughter may affect stress responses and pain tolerance, but the evidence does not support treating it as a reliable remedy for distress or illness.
A 2023 review of eight small studies found that laughter-inducing activities, such as watching comedy, reduced cortisol levels compared with control conditions. Cortisol is one measure of the body’s stress response; a change in its level does not by itself establish a lasting improvement in health.
Experiments have also found increased pain tolerance after social laughter. These findings concern responses to brief discomfort in research settings, rather than evidence that laughter treats persistent pain.
For everyday use, enjoyment is a reasonable aim. Humour and play can be things you make room for because you like them, without needing to measure a health benefit.
Shared humour needs care. Teasing, ridicule or jokes that dismiss someone’s feelings can create distance rather than connection. Notice whether everyone is enjoying the exchange, and change course if they are not.
If you are struggling to find anything funny, you do not need to push yourself. Other forms of rest, company or support may suit you better at that moment.
Recommended reading
Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas’ Humour, Seriously offers ideas for bringing more humour into work and everyday interactions. Based on their Stanford course, it combines research, examples and practical exercises, with a particular emphasis on workplace relationships.
Peter McGraw and Joel Warner’s The Humor Code combines travel, interviews and experiments to explore what people find funny across different settings and cultures. It is an exploration of humour rather than a guide to using laughter for health.