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April 19, 2026Scandinavian Journal of PainOpen Access

Boredom lowers, but humor elevates pressure pain thresholds in pain-free humans: a randomized controlled trial

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Authors

HGHelena GunnarssonJAJens Agerström

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Overview

Randomized trial shows boredom lowers pain thresholds while humor elevates them in healthy individuals, suggesting new avenues for pain treatment.

Key Points

  • This study aims to investigate how emotional states, specifically boredom and humor, affect pain sensitivity in pain-free individuals.
  • 114 pain-free individuals were randomly assigned to boredom, humor, or control groups.
  • Baseline pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were measured after watching an emotionally neutral video.
  • PPTs were measured again following each emotional state induction using pre-validated videos.
  • Boredom significantly lowered PPTs across all four tested body locations, indicating increased sensitivity to pain.
  • Induced humor significantly elevated PPTs in both trapezius muscles, suggesting reduced sensitivity to pain in those states.

Cite This Study

Gunnarsson et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69e4739a010ef96374d8f6d5https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2026-0006
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