Humour in adulthood and the golden years

• Humour is not a passing phase. In fact, our sense of humour evolves over our lifespan, rarely abandons us, and adults and seniors have been shown to spend (almost) as much time laughing as their younger peers, with the vast majority occurring in spontaneous social interactions (as opposed to reactions to canned jokes). And adults of all ages enjoy a broad range of humour forms. Best of all, adults and seniors generally do not lose their ability to comprehend and produce verbal humour. In many cases, it gets better with age!

• Research shows that one of the most important contributing factors to older adults’ well-being is a sense of humour. In fact, humour and laughter can be considered one of the most natural and cost-free methods of reducing stress, anxiety and tension. And they can create psychological, emotional, and physiological changes that result in people having more control over their lives. All we need to reap these benefits is an opportunity to exercise our funny bones and be exposed to humour in all its forms.

​

Learning objectives

• Foster a dynamic and fun atmosphere to make participants more aware of the place humour and laughter can continue to play in their lives, help them re-connect with their playful (and creative) side and in the process create a sense of fellowship and well-being.

• Provide concrete tools and tips on how to develop and maintain one’s sense of humour and better understand the associated mental, physical and cognitive benefits.

• Through simple exercises and humour activities, give participants an opportunity to laugh as a group and gain confidence in their ability to produce and respond to various forms of verbal humour.

​

Typical exercises and activities

With groups of adults and seniors, we most often offer a combination of passive and active activities based on the ages, profiles and interests of participants. Examples include:

​

Passive

• A presentation and discussion on the place of humour in our lives (why we use humour, what we find funny, how to nourish our sense of humour, what determines our humour preferences, why laughter is so prevalent in daily life, what does it mean to laugh at oneself, etc.)

• Video clips of classic comedies and sitcoms, followed by group discussion (e.g., from Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Lewis to Phyllis Diller and the Golden Girls).

• Short presentations on the history and evolution of comedy and joke forms (from the early vaudeville comedy of Milton Berle and Jack Benny to the modern stand-up comedians like Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Seinfeld, etc.).

• Readings of excerpts of classic comedy writings (e.g., humorous quotation books, classic narrative jokes, etc.).

​

Active

• Share printouts of common narrative and short jokes that can be read as a group and appraised for their funniness.

• Present short exercises on simple joke forms (e.g., puns) with multiple punchline choices.

• Have participants tell a funny personal story and share some tips on how professionals turn simple stories into comedy.

• Provide short exercises that encourage some reflection on how to turn common cliches and ideas into humorous statements (see sample exercise).

• Explore the idea of “not taking oneself too seriously” and finding ways to turns personal foibles into comedy.

 

Did you know?

• When asked to describe what constitutes successful aging, seniors most often mention a sense of humour as one of the most important virtues. The ability to enjoy humour and the diverse ways it is consumed can reveal important facets of the aging process and has the potential to positively affect healthy aging. The cognitive demands that humour appreciation and production require might also help delay the cognitive decline associated with aging, similar to other cognitive activities that were found to help thwart the decline in cognitive abilities among the elderly. – Gil Greengross, “Humor and Aging – A Mini-Review”, Gerontology 2013; 59:448–453