Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another daily
Senior Safety Advice podcast. I'm so glad that
you're here with me today. I'm Esther Kane, a
retired occupational therapist and currently
a certified aging in place specialist. Today
we're going to talk about sharing joy and why
laughter is medicine. After all, it is Heart
Health and Emotional Resilience Month this February,
so laughter, as most of us know, is very, very
good for your heart. What I want to start by
saying is that laughter is not something extra
in your life. It's not a bonus. It's not something
you earn after everything else is done. Laughter
is self -care, real. honest -to -truth self -care.
It can change the environment of a room full
of people, it can change the moods of people
and yourself, and it can change how people feel
in their own bodies. And what surprises people
the most, really, is how physical laughter truly
is. When you laugh, your breathing deepens. Your
muscles tend to soften, and your heart rate steadies,
which is, after all, what it's all about, right?
That's not accidental. That's your nervous system
getting a break. And here's where sharing joy
really matters. Laughter is even more powerful
when it's shared. A smile exchanged, a joke that
lands, or even when you mess up a joke and admit
to it, a funny memory retold, those moments connect
people. And connection is medicine, too. I've
worked with older adults when I was an OT who
were quiet and withdrawn. until someone laughed
with them, and suddenly their eyes lit up, their
posture changed, and their voice sounded stronger.
That shift is real. Laughter can release the
tension that's been stored in the body. Tension
from stress, from worry, from grief, and no one
needs a lecturer to laugh. It just happens. I
think I've said before in this podcast my late
husband was a PA worked in urgent care, but before
that He was a psychologist with a clinical practice
and he used to come home as a PA and would tell
me that the majority of people weren't coming
in to see him for their physical ailments. They
were really coming in to see him for the stress
that was in their bodies. He would point to his
body and then point to his head and he would
say all that stress, all that tension is affecting
their physical body. And that's why anything
that you can do to release that stress intention
is so healing, and that's why laughter is so
healing. I've seen family caregivers come back
to themselves through laughter. Caregiving, if
you're doing it, you know that caregiving can
feel very, very heavy, very serious, and always
relentless. And somewhere along the way, the
joy in your life gets put on hold. But laughter
doesn't mean you're not taking things seriously.
It just means that you're letting your body breathe.
You're giving it permission to breathe. I've
watched family caregivers laugh and then say,
oh, I forgot how good that felt. That's medicine
working. Another thing that I think people don't
always realize is that laughter can lower your
stress hormones. And when stress hormones drop,
then your blood pressure can ease, and your muscle
tension can also soften, and pain can feel much
more manageable. I mean, it's not like taking
a pain medicine and then you feel nothing. It
just makes it so much less painful, so it's more
manageable. I've seen and I've heard people say,
I don't hurt as much when I laugh. Now that could
mean emotionally, and or physically. And that's
not their imagination. Your physical body truly
does respond to laughter. And I think personally
that laughter also creates a sense of safety.
When people laugh together, their bodies tend
to sink, their breathing slows down, their guard
comes down. That sense of safety is deeply healing.
especially for older adults who may feel anxious
or uncertain. And sharing that joy doesn't have
to be a big thing. It doesn't require comedy
shows or big gatherings. It can be simple. A
funny story, a silly pet, a light -hearted TV
show, a funny YouTube video, a shared memory
that still makes you smile. I've seen seniors
laugh at the same joke every time. And guess
what? It still works. That body, the body, doesn't
get bored of joy. It welcomes it. It needs it.
Another beautiful thing about laughter is that
it brings people into the present moment. When
you laugh, you're not replaying the past. You're
not worrying about the future. You're right here
and now. And that presence can be very calming.
It gives the nervous system a rest which we all
know our nervous systems need that rest. The
rest can be so healing. Sharing that joy also
reminds people that we're not alone. Loneliness
is very hard on the heart. I experienced that
after my late husband passed away. It can really
break you. Hard, loneliness can be hard on the
body. Laughter can help to bridge that gap. Even
brief shared laughter creates connection and
connection supports health. It doesn't matter
if you're connecting with a person or a TV show
or a movie or YouTube video. or a joke you just
heard on Alexa, it doesn't matter. It's something
that you're sharing with another entity. Of course,
I would mix it all up so that you've got both
human interactions and technological interactions,
and that would be the best combination. I've
seen even my own family members feel better.
just knowing that someone shared a moment with
them. And I do my very best to do that with people
that I speak to every single day. Another thing
that I love about laughter is that it invites
movement. You know, a little rocking, a little
relaxed posture, a deep breath, and if you're
Sicilian or Italian like me, your hands tend
to go everywhere, so that is definitely movement.
Movement plus joy improves your circulation.
And that supports your heart health. It's not
exercise. It's ease. And ease matters. So here's
something important that I also want to say.
You don't have to wait until things are perfect
to laugh. If you do, you might miss a lot of
moments of laughter. You don't have to wait for
the day to be great or the meal to be perfect
or anything. It's especially helpful when you
have a bad moment or day. Laughter can exist
alongside your grief. Believe me, it can. Alongside
your stress. and alongside uncertainty. It doesn't
cancel hard things out. It just softens them.
And sometimes that softness is what helps people
keep going. Sharing joy is, in my opinion, an
act of absolute generosity. When you laugh with
someone, you're offering them relief as well
as yourself. You're offering connection to them.
and to yourself, and you're offering a little
bit of humanity, which we all know the world
definitely needs. And that offering goes both
ways. So if today feels heavy, try finding one
small moment of laughter, a smile, a chuckle,
a shared moment. That's enough. That's enough
to help you get through. You don't really need
more than that, because laughter really, really
is medicine. and sharing it multiplies the healing.
So I would recommend to set up a weekly movie
day lunch, dinner, breakfast, whatever with a
friend or a group and watch a favorite comedian
or share your comedians on YouTube or a funny
show or joke or anything at all. You can call
it the Laughter Club. Well, that's all that I
have for you today. Thank you again for listening
and being here with me. If today's episode gave
you some useful insights or hey, any new ideas,
then please share it with someone who you think
might find it helpful as well. You can discover
even more expert tips and helpful guides for
seniors and caregivers at seniorsafetyadvice
.com. And if you're searching for Aging in Place
Specialists or Senior Care Services, then please
visit our website at aginginplacedirectory .com
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So until next time, take care of yourself and
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