Published: 5 May 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
WENDY FREW talks to ROS BEN-MOSHE about her new book, in which she says it’s time to acknowledge the evidence of the physiological health benefits of laughter.
If there is one thing we can learn from the gruelling years of the Covid pandemic, says wellbeing expert Ros Ben-Moshe, it is that a bit of levity goes a long way in helping build psychological resilience.
We all know how good it feels to laugh: that delicious reaction to something funny, the rhythmical contraction of our diaphragm and the burst of breath from our bellies.
Laughter releases the body's natural feel-good chemicals, such as endorphins; it helps put our troubles into perspective; and it draws us to other people.
However, the value of laughter in our lives is deeper and longer-lasting than most of us realise, Ben-Moshe says. Her new book, The Laugher Effect, details her strategy of using laughter and laughter-based exercises to “turbo-charge joy and positive wellbeing”.
In a growing field of research, it’s become clear that laughter truly is a form of medicine that strengthens the immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and helps protect us from the damaging effects of stress, she says.
When we laugh, our blood pressure initially rises, as it would with any other aerobic exercise. Then it falls back, helping us to relax. Laughter makes our lungs work harder too, forcing stale air out and allowing fresh air deeper into the lungs. The lymphatic system, which deals with toxins, also gets a boost.
Ben-Moshe says there is even research showing that laughter has an effect similar to meditation on our minds and bodies.
In her book, she also explores laughter and humour through history and how it has connected and healed communities for millennia.
“It’s not some new hippy trippy fad; we have been drawing upon this resource for centuries,” says Ben-Moshe from Melbourne, where she runs the LaughLife Wellbeing Programs, and lectures at La Trobe University about positive psychology and health promotion.
