Through Laughter and Playfulness: Improving Lives in Care Homes and for Older People

As we grow older, we may laugh less because of what’s happening in our lives. But laughter can lift us above the trials of life. Laughter itself often doesn’t mean happy, but rather it’s a way of releasing stresses and tensions associated with many emotions, including sadness, anger and fear. At the same time, laughing changes our physiology, and we can become happier. By encouraging appropriate laughter, we can help ourselves and others to become as happy as possible (28 pages).