The Laughter Effect

by Ros Ben-Moshe

Laughter really can be the best medicine, and in this transformative body-mind guide, acclaimed wellness expert Ros Ben-Moshe shares the prescription.

In The Laughter Effect , Ros Ben-Moshe provides a roadmap to tap into the lighter side of life with laughter therapy. Ben-Moshe shares tips and tools to achieve an intentional state of being she calls the Laughter Effect–a way to elevate mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion. When used regularly, it enhances resilience to stress, enabling you to respond to adversity and bounce forward with humor, levity and grace.

Drawing on research from around the world, practice and wisdom from humor and laughter therapy, and positive psychology and neuroscience, Ben-Moshe shows you how to use the energy of laughter and joy to counter stress hormones and stimulate a daily dose of positive wellbeing with “happy hormones.”

The techniques, strategies and practices you’ll learn can transform your physical, mental, social and emotional landscape. Viewing life through a laughter lens will awaken a positive change in yourself, how you respond to the world and, in turn, how the world responds to you.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

About the author

Ros Ben-Moshe is an internationally recognised laughter wellness and positivity expert. She is an adjunct lecturer at La Trobe University, where she teaches positive psychology and health promotion, and is the author of Laughing at cancer: How to Heal with Love, Laughter and Mindfulness.

Reviews

[Provin Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. Laughter has a profound impact on health. This book will explain all of that to you and give you some helpful advice on how to add laughter to your life. I’m looking forward to a laughing yoga session soon! 😉

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheeky!
And quite fun to read!
I do know that we do not laugh often which I feel is really unfortunate. Laughing watching reels and YouTube shorts is just not enough I say!

The author does make dry jokes in the book and I know it’s on purpose. But then the entire book is just amazing!

So much information is given about laughter/laughing history. I do find this fascinating!

I say you will have lots of fun working with the exercises and prompts given in the book.

Moreover, the references given towards the end of the book will be quite helpful for further reading!

Thank you, Alcove Press, for the advance reading copy.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with so much positivity and laughter that I couldn't help giving it a five-star even though initially I thought a four-star would suffice. Yes, she talks about laughter yoga a lot (something I do not engage in or agree with) but there is so much more to the book than that. I never thought I'd have so much fun reading about history, especially the history of laughter. While you might have heard about some of the concepts written in this book before, having them about laughter would bring a new light to the idea. The last chapter talks about how to put the information into practice and not much yoga is involved. Thankfully you don't need to put all the exercises into practice to benefit from the laughter effect so that's a good start. Give it a go, if not for the information, you'd have a chuckle at times and at others, you'd laugh out loud. That must be worth something.

[Sarah Bagent · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 and glad I read this! The information was simplified down for the reader while still citing studies to support the credibility. Overall pretty mellow, but I was inspired by and amazed at so many specific lessons learned throughout the chapters about the literal health benefits of laughter on the body, the history of laughter being used intentionally around the world, and how our mind can be hacked to think more positively. Very encouraging read :)

[MorganJac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually got something out of this book against my will. I'm still skeptical about the laughter thing but there was a lot in here that made an impact

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the author's enthusiasm and passion for her subject. It was really nice that she shared stories about her battle with cancer. Sometimes it feels like books like these are written by people who haven't experienced a really difficult time. That is definitely not the case with this one. It's a testament to her reliance on the laughter effect that she seems so positive and happy despite all she went through.

My biggest takeaway from the book was to be more aware of my feelings and how much time I spend laughing and smiling. I think being more cognitive of this will absolutely help me be more affected by it, as well as make me seek out more opportunities to engage in laughter and smiling.

I also enjoyed the laughter history lessons and the laughter quotes interspersed. I wasn't a big fan of her jokes that were mixed in. Just not my brand of humor.

Other than the concept of laughter yoga, most of the ideas in this book were already familiar to me and I still don't think I'm likely to engage in them. I dread the idea of journaling and keeping track of everything I'm grateful for. I'm sure it would be helpful, but I just don't want to do it. I appreciate the author's attempt to convince me otherwise. Who knows, maybe one of these days when I feel like I have more time I'll try it.

[Hailey J.]

I picked up this book, aiming to get out of my summer reading slump, and I can most definitely say it pulled me out. I don't normally read books starting with "How To...", but reading something outside of my comfort zone, proved essential for me to regain some of my interest to read. Throughout the book, the author continuously shared accounts of her coping, or laughter strategies, working on herself, and clientele. To me, this gave her story, and data more authenticity, coupled with some research, and scientific studies done in numerous countries. As much as I liked the generous amount of evidence that was included, I did feel the author spent more time/pages than necessary on one singular topic. Overall, I'd rate this book a 4/5 stars, because it kept up my interest to read it, and genuinely changed my outlook on life: its negative/positive events, and how our mindset can really control how our life flows.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love and appreciate this topic so much and I have even led workshops for teachers and creatives on the positive effects of laughter in our lives. This book is delightful, and a wonderful companion for anyone who is on this journey called Life. I personally especially enjoyed the chapters on gratitude, self compassion, and journaling, however, all of the chapters contain many, many practical suggestions for incorporating more humor and laughter into our lives. Also included are the many positive effects of laughter on our physical bodies as well as our minds and spirits.

The “Serotinin Sisters” questions and answers interspersed throughout were exceptionally helpful and insightful as well.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to like this more than I did, but I already implement routine and frequent laughter in my life so I’m perhaps not the intended audience. Useful reminder that laughter helps in a variety of situations and has positive physical, emotional, and social impacts

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book might be helpful for others… it just didn’t float my boat.

[Scott Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Think I need more than this audiobook…

[Anicka Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a joyful reading of the audiobook.

[Nouf Aloudah]

كتاب يونس يضيء جانب معتم بالشخصية الجدية مثلي ههههه مرة انصح فيه خفيف وممتع ومفيد لادراج التضحوك كعادة يومية

[Jen]

Couldn’t cope with narrator’s voice, too stiff and formal for a book about laughter I think. And the content was not rocking my world so I don’t feel I’m missing out by not finishing the last part.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love laughing. This book was not my jam. Also, listening to someone laugh at 1.75 is a little manic. All that being said, I am interested in the science piece of all this.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the history and research project vibe

[Rae Eiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and uplifting book on the positive impacts of laughter. The author provides lots of case studies and specific ways to incorporate more laughter into your life.

[Merv Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just finished reading The Laughter Effect by Ros Ben-Moshe. Having been in the laughter business for more than two decades now, I can say with confidence that this is the best book written on laughter that I've read to date. It provides a blend of research, science, case studies and practical tips. If you'd like to meet the author, hear the back story to this book, and receive a personally signed copy, then join us at the Laughter Wellbeing Conference on the 27th October in Sydney https://laughterwellbeing.org

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This skilfully written, feel-good learning journey offers very practical strategies to ‘boost your joy quotient’ on a daily basis both at work and at home.

It is uplifting, insightful and entertaining. Both heartwarming and personal, it is jam packed with interesting and well researched historical and scientific facts - as well as fabulous made up words!

This is a book you didn’t know you needed :)

[Karen Lutchner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book, I had a smile on my face from beginning to end. At times I laughed out loud. This is a feel good book that makes you laugh and smile long after you put it down. Ros provides so many ways to bring joy into your laugh, everyone will find at least a few that tickle their funny bone enough to want to make them a regular practice. Ros’s friendly, jovial style makes for easy, entertaining reading. Highly recommended.

[Daria Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic book full of practical ideas to dial up the laughter quotient in our lives.

*Of course* we'll feel silly trying out some of the ideas... We're so used to thinking that being serious is the "right" way to be as grownups! But that doesn't mean we can't all benefit from intentional activities to increase the frequency and intensity with which we laugh.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with a number of the ideas from the book!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect pick me up book. Not only is it well-researched and informative, it is beautifully written. I learnt so much about the science of humour, laughter and I've noticed I'm smiling more. I'm looking forward to putting more of these self-care tips in my own life.