Actress Kate Hudson laughs at the Venice Film Festival.

(Getty Images)

Go ahead and laugh it up.

Seriously. It might be good for you.

A study at Oxford University found that laughter releases the same feel-good endorphins as exercise. Not only can those endorphins improve your mood, they also can relieve pain.

The findings support the growing popularity of laughter-based yoga and therapy, which is popping up in cities from Atlanta to Columbus to Minneapolis.

"It's nice to have Oxford confirm something we've been seeing anecdotally," Jody Ross, the founder of a Minneapolis laughter club tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Ross also agrees with the Oxford researchers that laughter can provide pain-relief.

"I've heard that it's much more powerful than regular morphine."