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May 4, 2012
Laughter is the best medicine
Jewish Seniors Alliance forum covers brain smarts and health.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
Mental stimulation, regular exercise, an active social life, a healthy diet, quality sleep and stress management are the basic components of a “brain-healthy lifestyle,” according to Dr. Jean-François Kozak, co-director of the Primary Care of the Elderly Research Group at Providence Health Centre and a research faculty member at the University of British Columbia.
Kozak was the keynote speaker at the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver’s Annual Spring Forum, which took place at Congregation Beth Israel on Sunday afternoon, April 22. Called Brain Smart, the forum also featured Allan O’Meara, laughter coach, therapeutic clown and certified yoga instructor, and Franca Temolo-Jones, executive director of Therapy Design.
After relating how he personally had been affected by a fall, Kozak noted that exercise can both help reduce the risk of a fall and increase the ability to recover from one – this is important, he said, because, as preventable as falls are, they nonetheless are one of the major reasons older people end up in an institution (because of the fractures related to a fall).
“The general consensus is that, you’re looking at, daily, at least 30 to 60 minutes ... and, when you think of exercise, think of four areas on which you have to concentrate,” said Kozak. “One is your flexibility, so, doing the stretches, etc. The other is your balance, so very important as we become older.... There are strength exercises, as well as endurance exercises.... And research has shown [that] it doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter how frail you are, it doesn’t matter how mobile you are, whether you’re in a wheelchair or bedridden, you can still do some form of exercise and benefit from it.”
After recommending that people take the nine-plus minutes necessary to watch Toronto Dr. Mike Evans’ video on YouTube, 23 and 1/2 Hours: What is the Single Best Thing We Can Do for Our Health?, Kozak spoke about the need for social activity – such as that provided by the JSA – in addition to cognitive and physical exercise.
“We are social animals, no matter how much we try to distance ourselves from other people. That social network of ours is extremely important,” Kozak said. He explained that, not only have such networks been found to reduce depression, anxiety and loneliness in older people, but people with a network are more likely to get time-appropriate health care (friends will prod them to go to the doctor, for example) and networks encourage disease prevention activities. People in social networks, he continued, are more likely to get health services because there are others who will advocate for them, and social networks reduce the likelihood of an early death. “But there’s one other thing that has just come out in the research over the last few years ... social networks play a major role, it seems, in delaying and preventing the onset of dementia.”
To stress his point, Kozak added, “Spouses of people living with dementia are six times more likely to get dementia themselves because of chronic stress, neglecting personal health and social isolation. The majority of people providing that type of care are women and you’re looking at women who are older now, so you’ve got ... their social network becoming narrower, trying to deal with a spouse who has dementia, which some people have been calling the 36-hour day.”
Though he delivered the bad news that there is no Fountain of Youth, Kozak assured the approximately 175 people at the forum, “I promise you, if you are mentally active, if you are physically active, if you are socially active, you’re going to find a much better reward: you’re going to be able to sustain your level of health, your ability to get around, your mobility, your independence ... and all of those, of course, contribute to the quality of life.”
Kozak ended with a quote from George Bernard Shaw: “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
Following a brief question-and-answer session, O’Meara took over the microphone and got the crowd up on their feet for “The Hokey Pokey.” With everyone warmed up, O’Meara shared a few facts; for example, the average six-year-old laughs 150-300 times a day, while the average adult laughs only six to 10 times. “A huge imbalance,” he said. “We all have that inner child within, we have got to let that out. That’s we want to do in laughter clubs, in laughter yoga.”
A four-page handout detailed all of the potential benefits from laughter – including stress reduction, strengthened immune system, aerobic exercise, reduced depression, anxiety, blood pressure and heart disease, looking younger (“laughing is excellent for the facial muscles”) and increased self-confidence – while O’Meara’s presentation focused on taking forum attendees through various laughter techniques. He wrapped up as he began, with everyone standing up, singing a song; this time, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World!”
Temolo-Jones kept the audience involved, enjoining them in a pop-culture quiz after some brief remarks about her work with seniors as a certified recreational therapist. She also spoke about cognitive games and how they can contribute to health. With so many options – reading, crossword puzzles, painting, etc. – she stressed, “When you find those things that you love to do and you make it a priority in your life and you’re committed to it, it’s like a win-win situation because you’re genuinely interested and, because you are, you can bet that your brain is going to get the best workout ever, as well as the fact that you are significantly enhancing the quality of your life. So, together, it’s just a great thing.”
Event chair Jenny Virtue concluded the proceedings, thanking the organizing committee – Marilyn Berger, Marian Cohen, Sylvia Gurstein, Vita Kolodny, Shanie Levin and Serge Haber – the numerous volunteers, the JSA staff and the Bagel Club, which catered the refreshments, while Haber, JSA president, thanked Virtue for her work.
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