The Effect of Laughter Yoga on Stress, Burnout, and General Health in Psychiatric Nurses

Psychiatric nurses frequently face emotionally intense situations, aggressive patient behaviors, and heavy workloads. These factors are known to contribute to elevated stress levels and burnout. This study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial at a psychiatric hospital located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, Türkiye. A total of 70 psychiatric nurses voluntarily participated and were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group (n=35 per group). The experimental group received an eight-session laughter yoga program, with each session lasting approximately 30 minutes. Sessions were held face-to-face in small groups and facilitated by a trained laughter yoga instructor. Each session included four components: warm-up and clapping exercises, deep breathing, childlike playfulness, and structured laughter activities. The control group received no intervention during the study period. Data were collected before and after the intervention using the following validated tools: Nurse Demographic Information Form Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) The study was approved by the relevant ethics committee, and all participants provided informed consent prior to enrollment.