Prescribing Laughter for Sleep and Wellbeing in UAE University Students

Can a Laughter Prescription Improve Psychological Health, Wellbeing, and Sleep in Zayed University Students?

This study is in line with the UAEs national drive to promote happiness and wellbeing. University students risk impaired psychological health, wellbeing, and sleep due to academic pressures. This research is the first to assess the feasibility of using a laughter prescription to improve psychological health and sleep in Zayed University students. Forty students will be recruited, and randomized to a control or laughter group.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Sleep; Mental Health Wellness
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Laughie laughter prescription; Device: Sleep tracking equipment

Detailed Description

The Laughie is a self created app or tool. It is a one minute recording of the user's joyful laughter on their smartphone. Once recorded, the user uses it by playing back the recording and laughing with it for the duration of the one minute. The Laughie acts as a prompt to guide the one minute of laughter.

In this research the experimental group each record their own Laughie, demonstrated and supported by the PI(s). They are then prescribed to laugh with their Laughie: 3x a day the first week (morning, lunch, and afternoon) and at least 2x a day during the second week. Immediately after using their Laughie they fill in a Laughie checklist to record whether they laughed for the full minute, whether they enjoyed their Laughie, and how they felt afterwards.

This study tracks sleep using wrist actigraphy in the control group (no Laughie prescription) and in the Laughie group. All participants complete one week baseline using sleep watches, and sleep diaries, prior to the Laughie intervention. They all then continue to track their sleep during the intervention. All participants complete WHO Five well-being, PSKI, and HADS pre and post intervention. During the intervention the Laughie participants complete Laughie checklists. All participants are invited for a final interview (the control group about the sleep equipment experience). A follow-up survey is sent to the Laughie group 2 months after their prescription.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Arab Emirates
  • Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 144534
    • Recruiting
    • Zayed University
    • Contact: Teresa Arora, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Registered Zayed University students, owner of a smartphone -

Exclusion Criteria: Chronic health conditions (cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes), deafness, non-English speakers

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Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental; One minute laughter prescription 3x a day Tracking sleep using equipment	Other: Laughie laughter prescription; Creation of a Laughie; laughing with their Laughie 3x a day; Device: Sleep tracking equipment; Tracking sleep using equipment
Active Comparator: Control; Tracking sleep using equipment	Device: Sleep tracking equipment; Tracking sleep using equipment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of two-week laughter prescription	Using the Laughie. Evaluate with Laughie checklists and interviews	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assess if subjective sleep outcomes improve	Using PSKI and interviews	6 months
Assess if objective sleep outcomes improve	Using wrist actigraphy	6 months
Assess if overall well-being improves	Using WHO Five, Laughie checklists, and interviews	6 months
Assess if specific aspects of wellbeing improve	Using WHO Five, Laughie checklists, interviews	6 months
Assess if mental health improves	Using HADS, interviews	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Zayed University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gonot-Schoupinsky FN, Garip G, Sheffield D, Omar OM, Arora T. Prescribing laughter to ameliorate mental health, sleep, and wellbeing in university students: A protocol for a feasibility study of a randomised controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2020 Nov 26;20:100676. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2020.100676. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 26, 2019
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): March 15, 2020
• Study Completion (Anticipated): April 15, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 18, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): November 20, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 13, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2020
• Last Verified: October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Sleep, laughter, well-being, mental health
• Other Study ID Numbers: ZU19_064_F

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No