{"id":6795,"date":"2021-12-15T07:33:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T12:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=6795"},"modified":"2021-12-15T07:33:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T12:33:51","slug":"never-too-old-for-fun-and-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2021\/12\/never-too-old-for-fun-and-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Never Too Old for Fun and Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Kathy Thomas\u2019 \u201cbig Catholic family\u201d gathers for the holidays, everybody plays <\/span>b<\/span>ingo. Her 90-year-old mother, Rosemary Doyle (\u201cRoRo\u201d to the grandkids), calls the game, and the winners get fun prizes, like gift cards for Starbucks or Whataburger. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we start the <\/span>b<\/span>ingo, the kids look up from their phones and play; they even post the game on their Instagrams<\/span>,<\/span> and their friends all want to join,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cIt\u2019s something we can all do together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing together is a way that Thomas\u2019 family stays connected. When the pandemic hit, the family kept up the tradition via Zoom. It\u2019s just one example of how play can enrich the lives of older adults. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never too young or too old to play,\u201d said Anna Yudina, marketing director for the <\/span>Toy Association. \u201cResearch links play with a number of wellness benefits in adults, such as reducing stress, boosting life satisfaction and empowering people to be creative, flexible thinkers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Play spans a wide gamut, from organized sports and serious hobbies to video games (about 15 percent of gamers in the United States are 55 or older). But all types of play seem to have positive benefits for older adults. Even spontaneous play with grandkids offers benefits\u2014adults who play with children burn 20 percent more calories per week, experience fewer falls, become less reliant on walking aids and are less likely to develop Alzheimer\u2019s in their 70s, according to the Genius of Play initiative, which promotes the value of play for children and adults. <\/span><\/p>\n

What Is Play? It\u2019s Personal<\/b><\/p>\n

Stuart Brown, MD, is the founder of the National Institute of Play, a nonprofit that studies the value of play. He resists offering an absolute definition of play because it\u2019s so personal. One person might find hang gliding to be a joyful form of play; another might view it as sheer terror. But Brown does identify the properties of play: it\u2019s done for its own sake; it\u2019s voluntary and fun; it makes us lose track of time and feel less self-conscious. Play also offers opportunities for improvisation and leaves us wanting more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlay energizes us,\u201d wrote Brown, author of <\/span>Play: How It Shapes the Brain and Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul <\/span><\/i>(2009). \u201cThe ability to play is critical not only to being happy but also to sustaining social relationships and being a creative, innovative person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brown identifies seven categories of play: body play\/movement; object; social; imaginative; storytelling; transformative and creative; and attunement (such as the babbling and eye contact shared between mother and baby). <\/span><\/p>\n

Body and object primarily involve physical movement, helping to maintain muscle tone and coordination. Social play alleviates isolation and loneliness. The remaining categories engage the brain, helping to preserve cognitive function. <\/span><\/p>\n

But those distinctions aren\u2019t hard and fast\u2014depending on the specific play, there can be a great deal of overlap between body and mind. Group games can engage the mind while lessening loneliness. Crafts or music (examples of transformative play) involve both mind and body. And all forms of play promote relaxation and reduce stress, especially when <\/span>laughter and humor are involved.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

A Changed Life<\/b><\/p>\n

Jeannette Jancetich says her favorite form of play\u2014ballroom dancing\u2014changed her life. She choked up a little when recalling the first time she walked into the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Phoenix, AZ, two years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I\u2019m in better health, I have better posture, I feel great, I\u2019ve lost weight and I\u2019ve made friends who feel like family,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

A retired banking software executive, Jancetich, 72, said that, due to constant travel, she never had time for dance when she was working. Now, she takes lessons three times a week and competes often. She loves it all: the rehearsals, the costumes and makeup, and the choreographing of dance numbers to fit each competition event\u2019s theme. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jancetich\u2019s instructor, Sarah Petrov, estimates about 30 percent of her students are older adults. Teaching <\/span>them<\/span> reminds her of a job she had in college, working with older adults in a neuropsychology clinic to help improve their brain health.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDancers must use both their cognitive and motor skills to follow complicated choreography,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s much like the exercises we used to improve brain health in the clinic.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

Connecting <\/b>t<\/b>hrough Play<\/b><\/p>\n

Play connects people, often in ways that span generations, according to Mary \u201cMolly\u201d Camp, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas<\/span>,<\/span> who specializes in geriatric mental health. She remembers bringing her young son, then 18 months old, to a nursing home to sing and visit with residents. He playfully tossed a ball to an elderly woman in a wheelchair who was nonverbal, due to dementia. Her face lit up and she threw the ball back to the boy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey had this immediate connection,\u201d she said. \u201cThat tells me that play is hardwired and innate.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, Tomislav “Tom” Peri\u0107 connected with younger people when he rediscovered his favorite form of play\u2014jiujitsu\u2014at age 62. Most of the people he trains with are young enough to be his child or grandchild.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey consider me the village elder,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s rewarding when younger people at least seem to listen when one offers advice or suggestions.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, at 70, he\u2019s ranked 10th worldwide in his age and skill level categories. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing that I\u2019ve done in the past decade that has been as rewarding, physically and psychically, as martial arts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the only activity that makes me feel like I\u2019m 35 again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of each class, Peri\u0107 said, \u201c<\/span>a<\/span>ll cylinders are firing. I feel satisfied that I have learned something new. Physically, I feel more limber. I feel a sense of camaraderie with my teammates. And for a moment, I feel like anything is possible.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Mastering skills like ballroom dance or martial arts involves practice and repetitive drills that require concentration and persistence. Do these pursuits still qualify as play? <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, according to Camp.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople can approach play with a very serious mindset,\u201d she said. \u201cThat sense of being fully immersed in the activity and \u2018in the moment\u2019 is what adds to their enjoyment.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Less serious, lighthearted play\u2014card and board games, crafts, singalongs, puzzles and more\u2014is also beneficial. Activities directors in senior living communities constantly try to devise new ways to get residents to play, to help them stay active and engaged and to meet other people. Play can serve as a distraction that helps ward off bouts of agitation and depression, common issues for those with Alzheimer\u2019s or dementia. And while games like balloon badminton may seem simplistic, they lure residents to common areas for laughter and team play, which helps people feel like contributing members of their community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Play can even heal relationships. Camp has heard from older adult patients who reported that some forms of play\u2014like golfing or playing cards\u2014helped mend or maintain longtime friendships that fractured in recent years over bitter political differences. Play provided a shared interest, Camp said, \u201cthat allowed them to keep connecting with each other without stepping on those land mines.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

A Childlike Spirit <\/b><\/p>\n

As the creator of popular board games like Taboo, Outburst, Super Scattergories and Boom Again, Brian Hersch has carefully analyzed what makes an activity fun. <\/span><\/p>\n

At its best, he said, play reconnects us with childhood memories as well as with a childlike spirit. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlay allows us to disengage from the obligatory and takes us back to our childhoods,\u201d he said. \u201cIt reminds us of those innocent times of just having fun, before life became crowded with obligations.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Hersch has two rules of thumb for every game he\u2019s created: it must generate laughter and \u201chead slaps.\u201d When people laugh, they\u2019ll play the game again and tell their friends about it. And head slaps happen when players truly connect to the game. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s a trivia game, for example, and the questions lead players to say, \u2018Oh, no one knows that,\u2019 then it\u2019s no longer fun,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if they slap their heads and say, \u2018Of course!\u2019 when they hear an answer, then you know it\u2019s working. Even if they couldn\u2019t come up with the answers, they were connected to the game.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

All Work, No Play<\/b><\/p>\n

Many researchers believe American adults of all ages don\u2019t spend enough time playing. Some may feel compelled to fill each day with productive activity; others may assume play is too silly for grownups. One study found that 84 percent of adult respondents said that taking time to play helps them be more productive at work. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlay is just as important for our overall health and wellness as sleep, nutrition and exercise,\u201d said Tom Norquist, past president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association. \u201cIt keeps us feeling young and energetic.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Norquist says that his career taught him to maintain a playful attitude in life. \u201cI take pride in enjoying all those little moments\u2014swinging on a tire swing with my granddaughters, hiking with my wife, doing cannonballs into our pool every summer\u2014because I don\u2019t take life too seriously. Play is a way of life.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Kathy Thomas\u2019 \u201cbig Catholic family\u201d gathers for the holidays, everybody plays <\/span>b<\/span>ingo. Her 90-year-old mother, Rosemary Doyle (\u201cRoRo\u201d to the grandkids), calls the game, <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Never Too Old for Fun and Games<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,5,7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-getting-older","category-healthspan","category-issues-in-aging"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"wps_subtitle":"Play can improve the health and enrich the lives of older adults\u00a0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6795"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6798,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795\/revisions\/6798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}