Laughter & Play for Parkinson’s You must be kidding!

I know firsthand how important humor and laughter is to the human spirit, both as a coping mechanism and a way to help heal. After my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in 1998, I became very involved in his care and the local PD association. Dad had a great sense of humor and even though he eventually had Lewy Body, he was always able to laugh – sometimes at himself!

A few years later I became involved in Improvisational Theatre (as seen in the popular TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”). As a psychotherapist I saw the therapeutic benefits of this art form, especially how it might help people with PD and care partners. I understood that improv isn’t about being funny but about connections.

Many non-pharmacological therapies for PD are accepted today, such as exercise, yoga, nutrition, and acupuncture. Improv Therapy now has evidence-based research showing its effectiveness. I began teaching Improv for PD and Care partners in-person in 2017, moving virtually when the pandemic hit in 2020.

We have weekly classes with students from around the US and Canada. It is one of the joys of my life. Improv is a fun way to stimulate creativity with benefits such as:

Emotional well-being

Motor skills coordination

Cognitive stimulation

Enhance overall quality of life.

The games we play bring laughter for students and laughter has tremendous physical and emotional benefits, including:

Stimulate many organs.

Activate and relieve your stress response.

Soothes tension.

Boosts immune system.

Triggers release of endorphins.

Increases release of dopamine.

We start our Improv for PD classes with “Moving to Music”. Music has a strong impact on emotions with the power to uplift the spirit. As reported in Frontiers of Neurology, “Rhythm may amplify the link between listening and movement with improvements in timing, coordination, balance, and posture. There are many “Music for PD” groups today. During this exercise I encourage students to move their hands, arms, and head and to sing along.

Another game is “Show, don’t tell, your emotions”. In this game we encourage students to use varied facial expressions. For PD, working on facial expressions is important. Exercising facial muscles can assist speech clarity. It also helps to release that stiffness or tension in the face often resulting in the “mask like” expression or facial rigidity we see in PD.

We play more complex games the enhance memory and cognition. “I am a Tree’ starts with one member saying, “I am a tree” holding their arms up as branches. Other players join in with other ideas of support, such as “I am a leaf on the tree.” Or “I’m a dog under the tree”. The first player then picks one of the other members to start a new tableau, perhaps picking the dog and a new scenario starts!

We even put on quarterly shows, where the students get to improvise for their friends and family.

If laughter is the best medicine then improv is the best delivery method.