THE RESEARCH BEHIND THE GAME
Social connectedness and conversations are important for older adults' psychosocial well-being. Studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness are serious health concerns among older adults (1). On the contrary, social connections – and particularly through intergenerational engagement – provide older adults benefits such as increased generativity, improved cognitive functioning, and a greater sense of self-worth (2).
However, connecting with an older person – whether in a family or a care setting – may not be the most intuitive thing. As a matter of fact the idea behind Open Up came up at conversation with Lisa*, a professional carer in Melbourne. Lisa was – a few times per week – caring for Erica*, an 89-year old living by herself and she was keen to engage the older woman in conversation. Questions like “how are you?” or “what did you do today?” were not that effective, especially considering that Erica had suffered a fall earlier in the year and was not as active as she used to be. “Nothing. I slept,” was her most typical answer, followed by “I just sat on my bum the whole day. I’m so old!” And with Erica spending most of her time watching TV, eating or napping, that was often the extent of their conversations.
Similarly, families often find it hard to connect and converse meaningfully with their elderly loved ones, as conversations often remain at a superficial level, revolving around the day’s meals or the weather. This difficulty can be further exacerbated when a loved one starts to experience cognitive decline or hearing impairment.
However, if the recent pandemic taught us one thing, that is the importance of truly connecting with other people and how enriching and fulfilling communication can be for people of all ages.
Open Up is a conversation game specifically designed to create the space and time for people to share, feel and above all, connect. It can be played with family members or friends, in a care setting or even solo. Open Up includes a set of elegantly illustrated cards to help trigger memories and reflect on life and stories through associations.
Being in the moment with the older person who feels listened to and valued can make an enormous difference to their health and wellbeing. Person-to-person contact can help trigger parts of the nervous system to release a cascade of beneficial neurotransmitters, including dopamine, that help manage stress and anxiety (3). Simple personal interactions can have long-term effects as they increase the levels of trust and lower cortisol levels – and thus reducing stress (4) – and Open Up provides a platform and starting point for connections to take place.
Another major benefit for older adults playing games is the significant improvement in both the phonemic and semantic verbal fluency (5) which means that the individual can maintain a richer vocabulary for longer. In addition, social engagement (such as conversation) and cognitive training (such as playing a game) have both been found to improve cognitive functions in older adults (6).
Erica and Lisa in Melbourne were the first two people who trialed Open Up when it was still at its concept phase (with rough drawings instead of illustrated cards!) and the results were overwhelming. The two women played together for 30-40 minutes twice a week over the course of 5 weeks and both reported having meaningful conversations, exploring memories, sharing experiences, reminiscing and on occasion becoming emotional.
The conversations often took their own course and produced further, positive, real-life outcomes. When the drawing of a plate of fish and chips was discussed, Erica shared the story of her 1-year stint at her uncle’s fish and chips shop in Byron Bay when she was 19, where she learnt his secret for the crispiest fish batter. Lisa wanted to learn and so Erica offered to teach her. At a later meeting, Lisa brought fish and the two women cooked and ate together. Lisa took a selfie on her phone which she then printed for Erica. This photograph was sitting right on top of Erica’s dresser!
Most importantly, the life-enhancing effects of social support extended to both adults. In separate interviews both women reported that they were feeling more connected with each other, and that they were looking forward to their next meetings and conversations.
Overall, social interactions and meaningful connections have major health and lifestyle benefits for people of all ages, and people who regularly communicate with others in their family or in their community are generally happier and healthier, as they tend to experience lower rates of chronic illness, less anxiety and depression, better cognitive health, improved mobility, and even increased longevity.
However, connecting with an older person – whether in a family or a care setting – may not be the most intuitive thing. As a matter of fact the idea behind Open Up came up at conversation with Lisa*, a professional carer in Melbourne. Lisa was – a few times per week – caring for Erica*, an 89-year old living by herself and she was keen to engage the older woman in conversation. Questions like “how are you?” or “what did you do today?” were not that effective, especially considering that Erica had suffered a fall earlier in the year and was not as active as she used to be. “Nothing. I slept,” was her most typical answer, followed by “I just sat on my bum the whole day. I’m so old!” And with Erica spending most of her time watching TV, eating or napping, that was often the extent of their conversations.
Similarly, families often find it hard to connect and converse meaningfully with their elderly loved ones, as conversations often remain at a superficial level, revolving around the day’s meals or the weather. This difficulty can be further exacerbated when a loved one starts to experience cognitive decline or hearing impairment.
However, if the recent pandemic taught us one thing, that is the importance of truly connecting with other people and how enriching and fulfilling communication can be for people of all ages.
Open Up is a conversation game specifically designed to create the space and time for people to share, feel and above all, connect. It can be played with family members or friends, in a care setting or even solo. Open Up includes a set of elegantly illustrated cards to help trigger memories and reflect on life and stories through associations.
Being in the moment with the older person who feels listened to and valued can make an enormous difference to their health and wellbeing. Person-to-person contact can help trigger parts of the nervous system to release a cascade of beneficial neurotransmitters, including dopamine, that help manage stress and anxiety (3). Simple personal interactions can have long-term effects as they increase the levels of trust and lower cortisol levels – and thus reducing stress (4) – and Open Up provides a platform and starting point for connections to take place.
Another major benefit for older adults playing games is the significant improvement in both the phonemic and semantic verbal fluency (5) which means that the individual can maintain a richer vocabulary for longer. In addition, social engagement (such as conversation) and cognitive training (such as playing a game) have both been found to improve cognitive functions in older adults (6).
Erica and Lisa in Melbourne were the first two people who trialed Open Up when it was still at its concept phase (with rough drawings instead of illustrated cards!) and the results were overwhelming. The two women played together for 30-40 minutes twice a week over the course of 5 weeks and both reported having meaningful conversations, exploring memories, sharing experiences, reminiscing and on occasion becoming emotional.
The conversations often took their own course and produced further, positive, real-life outcomes. When the drawing of a plate of fish and chips was discussed, Erica shared the story of her 1-year stint at her uncle’s fish and chips shop in Byron Bay when she was 19, where she learnt his secret for the crispiest fish batter. Lisa wanted to learn and so Erica offered to teach her. At a later meeting, Lisa brought fish and the two women cooked and ate together. Lisa took a selfie on her phone which she then printed for Erica. This photograph was sitting right on top of Erica’s dresser!
Most importantly, the life-enhancing effects of social support extended to both adults. In separate interviews both women reported that they were feeling more connected with each other, and that they were looking forward to their next meetings and conversations.
Overall, social interactions and meaningful connections have major health and lifestyle benefits for people of all ages, and people who regularly communicate with others in their family or in their community are generally happier and healthier, as they tend to experience lower rates of chronic illness, less anxiety and depression, better cognitive health, improved mobility, and even increased longevity.
* Not their real names
Note: We cannot post Erica’s and Lisa’s selfie with the fried fish as Erica passed away in June 2022 before we had a change to send her the consent form allowing us to share her picture. However, she was happy for Lisa to share her secret for crispy batter with everyone: use a mixture of cake flour, corn-starch and regular flour in three equal parts. :)
Note: We cannot post Erica’s and Lisa’s selfie with the fried fish as Erica passed away in June 2022 before we had a change to send her the consent form allowing us to share her picture. However, she was happy for Lisa to share her secret for crispy batter with everyone: use a mixture of cake flour, corn-starch and regular flour in three equal parts. :)
References
- Chen S.-T., Dattilo J., Frias F.J.L. (2018). Helping older adults pursue the good life: Advice from sages and social psychologists. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, LII(2), 170–189.10.18666/TRJ-2018-V52-I2-8577, https://js.sagamorepub.com/trj/article/view/8577
- Andreoletti C., Howard J.L. (2018). Bridging the generation gap: Intergenerational service-learning benefits young and old. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 39, 46–60.10.1080/02701960.2016.1152266, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26905456/
- Pinker, S. (2020) What Makes Social Connection So Vital To Our Well-Being?, TED Radio Hour, https://www.npr.org/transcripts/842604367
- Cook Maher A, Kielb S, Loyer E, Connelley M, Rademaker A, et al. (2017) Psychological well-being in elderly adults with extraordinary episodic memory. PLOS ONE 12(10): e0186413. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186413
- Estrada-Plana, V., Montanera, R., Ibarz-Estruga, A., March-Llanes, J., Vita-Barrull, N., Guzmán, N., Ros-Morente, A., Ayesa Arriola, R. and Moya-Higueras, J. (2021), Cognitive training with modern board and card games in healthy older adults: two randomized controlled trials. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 36: 839-850. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5484
- Kuo CY, Huang YM, Yeh YY. Let's Play Cards: Multi-Component Cognitive Training With Social Engagement Enhances Executive Control in Older Adults. Front Psychol. 2018 Dec 6;9:2482. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02482. PMID: 30574114; PMCID: PMC6291491. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02482/full
