Relaxed vigilance: humor as a regulatory capacity in care systems

Sustaining vigilance over time presents a regulatory challenge for care systems operating under conditions of uncertainty. When vigilance becomes chronically elevated, it may narrow attention, erode relational trust, and reduce adaptive capacity. This Perspective introduces relaxed vigilance, a regulatory condition in which vigilance remains active while cognitive flexibility and relational coordination are preserved. The article examines humor, particularly laughter, as a biologically and socially grounded process that may signal or support this regulatory balance. Drawing on literature from evolutionary biology, stress physiology, medical sociology, patient safety culture, and healthcare teamwork, the framework distinguishes relaxed vigilance from adjacent constructs, including psychological safety, situational awareness, resilience, and burnout. Within clinical and organizational contexts, laughter may function as an interactional signal indicating that attention to risk persists while relational conditions necessary for collaboration remain intact. The framework emphasizes that this relationship is conceptual rather than causally established, and that organizational conditions such as hierarchy, workload, reporting culture, and communication structures shape whether relaxed vigilance can emerge or be sustained. In caregiving systems, where clinicians operate under a continuing duty of care, sustaining this balance may help preserve attention to risk while supporting trust, communication, and adaptive coordination under prolonged uncertainty.