Page 31 - Senior Times South Central Michigan - June 2016 - 23-06

laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system.”
How Can Laughter Therapy Help Seniors?
Retirement: One of the biggest stressors for seniors is a lack of purpose after retirement. It can lead to major depression and mental agony. Lack
of importance creates frustration and many a times proves extremely detri- mental to physical and mental health. Extended hearty laughter helps to reduce stress and generate a positive attitude. Laughing together in a group helps to boost self-esteem and overcome feelings of insecurity.
Lack of Bonding: Laughter Yoga is especially beneficial for older people. Seniors are always in need of human contact. In an adult residentail facility, such as Heritage Assisted Living, seniors are surrounded by like-minded peers,
but often they still miss the bonding of a family. Laughter sessions have the power to reach beyond the healing of laughter. The effective network of caring-sharing relationships is the key to a happy and healthy life. Relationships with people
humor declines. The degeneration of the brain cells makes it difficult for many seniors to understand and organize facts, let alone humor. Simple tasks become difficult, frustration levels rise making
it harder for them to laugh. Under such conditions laughter therapy is ideal for seniors to reap the scientifically proven benefits of laughter to improve their health and well being. It helps to provide an emotional bonding and is one of the most powerful tools against depression.
Since humor is an intellectual phe- nomenon, seniors find it difficult to laugh without a reason. This is where laughter therapy can help them to be able to laugh and start experiencing a life of joy once again. Being a physical process, it does not require any mental abilities thus helping the older people to understand humor without using their cognitive faculties.
A few hours of laughter every day will increase your memory, think- ing ability and intellectual capacity. People with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer’s show remarkable improvement.
Senior Times - June 2016
Page 31
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become very strong and the feeling of loneliness dissipates. Seniors enjoy the regular meetings as it can generate a sense of belonging. Laughter Yoga can actually give seniors that much needed feeling of closeness.
Physical immobility: Sedentary lifestyle, illness and lack of physical exercise can cause stiffness of limbs and muscles and lead to immobility and pain and aches. Extended hearty laughter has lead to an increase in muscle movement, mobility and boost to the immune sys- tem. It increases disease fighting cells and proteins, and triggers release of endorphins (body’s natural painkillers).
Decline of cognitive faculties:
Faced with age and age-related troubles, seniors find that their physical and men- tal faculties decrease. With the beginning of certain diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia, the capacity to comprehend
Physical illness: Scientific studies have proven that one reason for frequent sickness is because there is a lack of oxygen in the body cells. Laughter and deep breathing exercises help to attain good health by increasing the supply
of oxygen. Laughter practitioners of all ages with chronic pain, migraines, head- aches, and asthma have found attacks to become less frequent, and in some cases, to disappear completely. Many people with high blood pressure, severe spinal, neck or shoulder problems, and even diabetes have found their life normal- izing eventually requiring no medication. Many people with depression, anxiety and chronic stress related diseases have reported moving from debilitating fear and anxiety to a more positive state of mind, transforming their quality of life.
Laugher... Why not give it a try today!