International Moment of Laughter Day

The day was dreamed up in 1997 by Izzy Gesell, an author, professional speaker, and humor consultant known as “America’s Humorologist.” Gesell believes laughing out loud is as essential as breathing, and he wanted the world to have a holiday that says so. His famous line sums it up: “Laughter comes right after breathing as just about the healthiest thing you can do.” Nearly three decades later, his little holiday has grown into a global excuse to be gloriously, unapologetically silly, and his suggestions for celebrating remain delightfully odd: laugh out loud at the funny cards in a greeting card shop, buy a laugh-box in a joke shop and turn it on at work, or show your baby pictures to someone who has never seen them. Gesell has spent decades as a motivational humorist and psychologist, teaching organizations that humor builds healthier workplaces, and his official site still celebrates April 14 as the planet’s International Moment of Laughter Day, inviting America and the whole world to join the fun.

He has a point, and science backs him up. Laughing out loud relieves stress, instills optimism, raises self-confidence, defuses resistance to change, and enhances all your relationships. The short-term perks include stimulating the heart and lungs, activating the body’s natural stress response, and soothing tension. The long-term benefits, according to research cited by the Mayo Clinic, include a stronger immune system, pain relief, greater personal satisfaction, and an elevated mood. Laughter even strengthens resilience and defuses conflict, making it as useful in the boardroom as it is at the dinner table. Not bad for something that costs nothing, takes seconds, and has zero side effects. The Well Being Trust notes that laughter stimulates key organs like the heart and lungs, activates the body’s natural stress response, and soothes tension, while long-term benefits include a boosted immune system and pain relief. Even anticipating a laugh can lift your mood, which is why comedy clubs and funny movies feel like therapy.

April is also Stress Awareness Month, which makes April 14 the perfect pressure valve in the middle of a hectic season. The beauty of this holiday is its simplicity: there is no gift to buy, no party to plan, no dress code. You just laugh, and you invite someone else to laugh with you. Chuckle, giggle, guffaw, snicker, cackle, chortle, crack up, snort, or titter; every style of laugh counts, and the weirder your laugh, the better the day gets. If laughing is not your thing, the day’s founder says, try teheeing, yucking, or crowing instead. There is even a famous 1962 case in Tanzania, sometimes called the laughter epidemic, in which contagious laughter spread through a village school, proof that giggles are genuinely infectious.

So on April 14, give yourself permission to laugh out loud in public, on a video call, or at the breakfast table. Laugh at the funny cards in a greeting card shop. Call a friend and share a funny story. Go to a comedy show, watch laughing baby videos, or buy that laugh-box and set it off at the office. Ask a four-year-old to tell you a joke (it will be funnier than you expect), or simply laugh for no apparent reason at all. The moment of laughter is yours to take, and the more people who take it, the merrier the world becomes. Some workplaces now host laughter yoga sessions, where groups practice laughing together until the laughter becomes real, and April 14 is the perfect day to try one. Laughing baby videos, comedy podcasts, and old sitcom reruns all count as legitimate celebration supplies.

THE STORY BEHIND INTERNATIONAL MOMENT OF LAUGHTER DAY

🤣 The Man Who Started the Giggle
Izzy Gesell, “America’s Humorologist,” dreamed up International Moment of Laughter Day in 1997. The author, professional speaker, and humor consultant built a career teaching people that humor is a serious tool for health and leadership, and this holiday is his open invitation to practice it every single day, not just on April 14. His mantra, that laughing out loud is as essential as breathing, has introduced the science of humor to boardrooms, classrooms, and conferences around the world.

💡 Laughter Is Medicine
Gesell’s mantra is that laughter comes right after breathing as the healthiest thing you can do. Laughing relieves stress, builds optimism and confidence, defuses resistance to change, and strengthens relationships, and the Mayo Clinic credits it with boosting immunity, easing pain, increasing personal satisfaction, and elevating mood. It is the rare prescription with no copay. Short-term, laughter stimulates the heart and lungs and eases tension; long-term, it supports immunity, eases pain, and lifts mood, all while strengthening the relationships that carry us through hard times.

📅 Perfect Timing in April
April is Stress Awareness Month, so a holiday devoted to laughing lands right on schedule. Mid-April can feel like a long stretch of the year, and this day turns it into an excuse for a collective deep breath, a pause in the chaos, and one very good belly laugh. Consider it a wellness break the whole planet takes together. Stress Awareness Month reminds us that tension is universal, and this holiday answers it with the most human medicine there is. A mid-April laugh break costs nothing and pays dividends in mood all week.

🎉 Every Laugh Counts
Chuckling, giggling, guffawing, snickering, cackling, chortling, teheeing, yucking, or snorting: International Moment of Laughter Day welcomes all of them. There is no wrong way to laugh, only missed chances to share one, so pick your favorite style and go loud. Bonus points if your laugh makes someone else lose theirs. Researchers have even documented laughter epidemics, moments when giggles spread through whole communities, which tells you everything about how contagious joy can be. Pass it on.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

💬 Start a Laugh Chain
From your couch, text three friends your funniest joke or the clip that always cracks you up, and ask each of them to pass one along. Watch how far the laughter travels before dinner, and crown the funniest reply the winner. Screenshots of the chain make excellent keepsakes. Keep the chain going all day and see who sends the funniest reply by bedtime. Include your grandparents; they often have the best jokes and the loudest laughs.

🎪 Host a Comedy Night
Invite friends over, queue up a stand-up special or a comedy movie, and pop some popcorn. Set one rule for the evening: nobody stops smiling. Bonus points for a between-films joke contest with a very silly trophy, judged by applause alone. End the night by voting on the best laugh of the evening, loudest snort wins.

🏛 Take It Public
Bring the funny to your community: pin jokes on the office bulletin board, chalk a punchline on the sidewalk, or slip a funny card into a coworker’s mailbox. A public laugh is a gift to strangers, and you never know who needs one. Leave the world funnier than you found it. A joke taped to a bus stop or tucked into a library book can brighten a stranger’s whole week.

Celebrate International Moment of Laughter Day

Life is short, but a good laugh makes it feel wonderfully long. On April 14, laugh early, laugh often, and take someone along for the ride. Your moment of laughter is waiting, so go ahead and take it. Set a reminder, gather your favorite people, and make April 14 the funniest day on your calendar. After all, as Izzy Gesell reminds us, laughter comes right after breathing.