Laughing Gas Can Offer Immediate Relief From Depression, Study Finds

The researchers found that administering the gas helped reduce depressive symptoms in as little as two hours. Relief was relatively short-lived, with symptoms returning within the week unless the dose was repeated.

"This study brings together the best possible evidence indicating that nitrous oxide has the potential to provide swift and clinically significant short-term improvements in patients with severe depression," says clinical psychologist Kiranpreet Gill, from the University of Birmingham.