--- title: Does laughter yoga reduce PMS symptoms? | Niyora description: Yes. Women who did laughter yoga showed significant improvements in depression, anxiety, fatigue, irritability, pain, bloating, and sleep problems compared to url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-laughter-yoga-on-premenstrual-symptoms-2024/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does laughter yoga reduce PMS symptoms? Non-randomised trial, 2024 # Does laughter yoga reduce PMS symptoms? Yes. Women who did laughter yoga showed significant improvements in depression, anxiety, fatigue, irritability, pain, bloating, and sleep problems compared to women who received no treatment. Early or limited evidence 80 female nursing and midwifery students in Istanbul, Turkey with PMS ## What they did Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study of 80 female nursing and midwifery students in Istanbul, Turkey with PMS. The intervention group (32 women) participated in twice-weekly laughter yoga (30-minute sessions with laughter exercises and breathing). The control group (48 women) received no treatment. Researchers measured PMS symptoms before and after the intervention. ## What they found The laughter yoga group showed significant decreases in depressive mood (P=.00), anxiety (P=.04), fatigue (P=.00), irritability (P=.01), depressive thoughts (P=.03), pain (P=.002), sleep changes (P=.004), and bloating (P=.001). After the intervention, the laughter yoga group had significantly lower fatigue (P=.03) and pain (P=.001) scores than the control group. ## What it means for you Laughter yoga may help reduce PMS symptoms, especially pain and fatigue. However, this was not a randomized controlled trial. Participants were assigned to groups by department, not randomly, so other differences could explain the results. The study was in university students in Turkey, so results may not apply to all women. 32 Laughter yoga group size 48 Control group size 30 minutes Session duration ## About the study Original title Effects of Laughter Yoga on Premenstrual Symptoms Authors Karali E, Gürkan ÖC Journal Alternative therapies in health and medicine Year 2024 Study design Non-randomised trial Participants 80 What was tested Laughter yoga twice-weekly in 30-minute sessions of laughter exercises and breathing Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38518132/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38518132/) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Lab study, 2026 Do core stability exercises help women with PMDD? Survey study, 2020 Can teaching about yoga techniques improve girls' knowledge about managing PMS? Survey study, 2019 What are the best ways to manage PMS? Study, 2026 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Randomised trial, 2021 Does hypnotherapy reduce pain and emotional distress in women with PMDD? Randomised trial, 2018 Does swimming reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗