The Benefits of a Good Laugh
Everyone uses the phrase “laughter is the best medicine,” and while you can’t laugh away a serious health condition, learning to laugh at life and enjoy the world around you can improve your overall health in many aspects. Your elderly loved one is no exception to that rule. A little laughter can go a long way to helping to improve her health.
Health Benefits of Laughter for Seniors
There are three ways that laughter can benefit seniors – physically, socially, and mentally. Let’s look at just some of the benefits in all three categories.
Physically
- Increasing oxygen in the blood. A good belly laugh can increase blood oxygen levels, helping all parts of the body receive the oxygen they need to function well. This can improve organ health by stimulating them.
- Improved immune system. Positive thoughts and emotions release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more serious illnesses.
- Relaxes muscles. A good laugh stimulates circulation and lets tight knots in those muscles relax.
- Pain management. Laughter can help a person manage their pain levels by releasing endorphins into the system.
Mentally
Laughter can also help with mental health concerns.
- Laughter can help fight depression and anxiety.
- Laughter can help your loved one manage an emotionally tense situation. A light joke in the middle of a tough situation can bring relief from all of the stressful emotions surrounding that situation and is not inappropriate.
- Laughter can help reduce stress. It can help to find distractions during long-term stressful situations such as an illness. Watching a funny movie or playing a silly game can provide the body with relief during that period.
Socially
- Learning to laugh at oneself, can help your senior connect with others even when she makes a mistake or fails at a task. It makes her more approachable to others, creating the opportunity to form relationships.
- Laughter can attract others. Others will be drawn to those who are in good spirits and enjoying the moment they are in.
Add Laughter to the Menu with a Companion Care at Home Provider
Maybe your loved one feels like she just doesn’t laugh that often and doesn’t know how to get started. She doesn’t need to alter her personality to learn to laugh more but she might need a few starting points and having someone like a companion care at home provider help her find the funny things in life might be just what the doctor ordered. Here are a few ways your loved one and her companion care at home provider can increase her daily laughter.
- Discover what is funny to your loved one. She can look at cartoons, movies, and books and think about which ones made her smile or chuckle. Is there a pattern to what makes her laugh? Is it animals doing silly things? Is it slapstick humor? Discover what it is and then add more.
- Listen to some comedians. Not all comedians are the same, so finding one that shares your loved one’s sense of humor can help her laugh more. Her companion care at home provider can join her while watching a routine because they are always more funny when enjoyed with a friend.
- Play silly games. The best way to laugh is to try games that are silly like charades or Pictionary. The best advice is to tell your loved one to never take herself too seriously. Just have fun!
If you or an aging loved one is considering companion care at home in Cave Creek, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!