The Effect of Laughter Yoga on General Health Among Nursing Students



Yazdani M¹ ; Esmaeilzadeh M¹ ; Pahlavanzadeh S¹ ; Khaledi F¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research Published:2014

Abstract

Background: Promotion and provision of individualsa health is one of the bases for development in societies. Studentsa mental health is very important in each society. Students of medical sciences universities, especially nursing students, are under various stresses in clinical environment, in addition to the stress they experience in theoretical education environment. With regard to the importance of nursing studentsa general health and considering the various existing strategies to promote general health components, use of complementary treatments is more considered because of their better public acceptance, low costs, and fewer complications. One of the new strategies in this regard is laughter Yoga. The present study was conducted with an aim to define the effect of laughter Yoga on general health among nursing students. Materials and Methods: This is a quasi-experimental two-group three-step study conducted on 38 male nursing students in the nursing and midwifery school of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. In the study group, eight 1 h sessions of laughter Yoga were held (two sessions a week), and in the control group, no intervention was conducted. The data of the present study were collected by Goldberg and Hilleras General Health Questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS version 12. Results: The findings showed a significant difference in the mean scores of general health before and after laughter Yoga intervention in the two groups of study and control. Conclusions: The findings showed that laughter Yoga had a positive effect on studentsa general health and improved the signs of physical and sleep disorders, lowered anxiety and depression, and promoted their social function. Therefore, laughter Yoga can be used as one of the effective strategies on studentsa general health. © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.