Senior Communities Enrich Friendships and Generate Healthy Results
We create friendships throughout our entire lives. Research suggests that friendships and activities reduce stress, help people feel worthy and needed, and stimulate the mind. From conversing at the breakfast table to participating in an afternoon group activity, residents living in senior communities reap the benefits of friendship every day.
Friendly Faces
All of us would like to spend more quality time with our friends. Seniors living in a community setting have this luxury. Friends live in close proximity to one another. Communication generally occurs via face-to-face contact. Seniors can chat, exchange a glance, laugh, or simply enjoy a peaceful moment among friends. Seniors who are less conversational, or who tend to observe during group activities, also benefit from being in the vicinity of their friends. A developmental psychologist, Susan Pinker, explains the body’s chemical reaction to face-to-face contact during her TED2017 lecture, “So simply making eye contact with somebody, shaking hands, giving somebody a high-five is enough to release oxycontin, which increases your level of trust and it lowers your cortisol levels. So it lowers your stress. And dopamine is generated, which gives us a little high and it kills pain.” Imagine the impact a friendly interaction has on a senior who may be feeling lonesome or who may be suffering some physical pain. Friends are naturally rejuvenating!
Active Friendships
Coordinated activities at senior communities provide countless opportunities to interact with friends. Seniors are encouraged to participate or to observe during weekly programming. Special events welcome new friends to the community such as guest entertainers, guest lecturers, therapy animals, and young performers from local schools.
Friends Become Family
A community’s close-knit, home environment enables seniors to befriend caregivers. Competent, friendly caregivers provide a feeling of security while assisting ADL’s as needed. The components of senior communities enrich friendships and generate healthy results. Contact Mayberry Gardens today to learn how we can become friends!