Laughter and the Elderly. Disabled and the elderly can benefit from a cardio workout if they engage in lengthy periods of laughter.
Interestingly, studies have shown that people suffering from heart diseases are often 40% less likely to laugh than people without these problems.
For those with restricted movement simple actions such as waving scarves, clapping hands, playing an imaginary musical instrument or shaking maracas while laughing all add to the amount of movement undertaken, causing heart rates to increase, bodies to shake, tension to be released and oxygen levels to rise in all cells, producing an overwhelming sense of wellbeing.
Many senior citizens may be isolated from their family or living in an old age facility where there is often little to do but focus on the past and the problems of the present. A daily smile and laugh with a carer or a regular group laughter session bring amazing results to mind, body and spirit.
By the age of 50 a person will have lost 40% of their lung capacity. Laughing with a longer inhalation helps flood the body with extra oxygen and providing all the other benefits we have talked about.
Integrating laughter into the lives of senior citizens can help those who have difficulty remembering things. At California’s Loma Linda University a group of healthy adults aged over 60 were tested to see if laughing affects short term memory. Half of the group sat silently for 20 minutes while the others watched a comedy video. The memory recall of both groups was then tested and found to be better among those who had laughed at the comedy.
Keltner and Bonanna interviewed 46 adults who had lost their spouse within the last 6 months. Those who smiled and laughed as they talked about their loved one during the initial interview experienced less grief 6, 14 and 25 months later. They also checked and recorded that both groups had elevated heart rates during the interview but the non laughter group but unlike the laughter group had increased emotional distress. Laughter gave a brief relief from mourning. It is important to laugh at situations NOW and release them, not hold on to them for years.
Laughter helps improve cardiac vagal tone, ( how your heart rate is influenced by breathing) causing the endothelium (inner lining of blood vessels) to expand therefore increasing blood flow, adjust coagulation and thickening so this is very important as low vagal tone has been linked to stroke, diabetes and heart failure which often affect the elderly. Research shows the more social contact people have with others over a nine week period (laughter in a group provides that) the more their vagal tone rate increased
Laugh regularly with any elderly people you know and encourage them to attend an organised laughter session.
Make sure they watch comedy programmes on the television.
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Laughter Sessions
I have run many sessions for people with dementia. They do not forget how to laugh and it is uplifting for their careers to see them having fun and smiling.
I also run sessions especially for careers to give them tips and tools that they can use with those they look after.
Sessions can be run for small groups, on a 1-1 basis (usually with a career in attendance) or for larger groups in care homes or day care centres.
The sessions can be themed, e.g. Christmas, Halloween
For more details and to book please contact me via gmk46@hotmail.co.uk or call 07707272075
