The Senior Reunion Phenomenon and Slowing Dementia
A psychologist's personal reflection on why senior reunions matter, and the research suggesting social activity can help slow memory and brain decline.
Group of seniors posing together at RUKUN Senior Living
The Senior Reunion Phenomenon and Slowing Dementia
By: Soraya Salim, Psychology ('88)
Co-Founder, Pulih@thepeak, an empowerment center for women, youth, and families
Republished with permission from the University of Indonesia Alumni Magazine, January–April 2019 issue.
Can Reunions in Senior Years Really Help Slow Dementia?
In recent years, reunions have become increasingly common — from college classmates to high school, middle school, and even elementary school reunions. For those who have entered their senior years, gatherings like these often become a much-anticipated occasion. It reminds me of my own mother, who always treated her middle school reunion (still bearing a school name from the Dutch colonial era) as the single most important item on her calendar, one she would never miss. That's where I saw her old friends show up, even if it meant using their own mobility aids to get there. And that's where I saw them thoroughly enjoying themselves — laughing freely, singing, and even dancing from time to time.
Why do gatherings like this become so meaningful? Because it's where they can reconnect with friends from their own era, trading stories, jokes, and unique memories. For a moment, they seem to return to their youth, with a vitality and liveliness that tends to fade with age — something that's hard to replicate with children or grandchildren, given the differences in generation, era, and context.
Dr. Yuda Turana, SpS, a neurologist from the University of Indonesia and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Atma Jaya University, shared at a scientific gathering in San Francisco that research shows social activity has a positive effect in slowing memory and brain function decline (published in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders — year and volume as cited in the original publication). Reunions can be one form of this kind of social activity. Other activities that can also help include puzzles, discussions, handicrafts, and group exercise — relatively light activities that, when done regularly, can be highly beneficial in maintaining brain function among seniors.
Dr. Ria Maria Theresia, a psychiatrist from the University of Indonesia who now holds a strategic position at the Faculty of Medicine of Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Jakarta, found in her research that the Poco-Poco line dance, performed together in a group, combines exercise or movement, rhythm, and coordination linked to brain training. Because it's done in an enjoyable way, in a group, and in a positive atmosphere, this dance was also found to help reduce the risk of dementia/Alzheimer's.
Published in: University of Indonesia Alumni Magazine, January–April 2019 issue.
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Darmawan Park Area
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Reunions allow seniors to reconnect with friends from their own generation, share stories and memories, and recapture some of the vitality and fun of their youth that's harder to find with children or grandchildren.
According to Dr. Yuda Turana, SpS, research shows social activity has a positive effect in slowing memory and brain function decline, and reunions are one form of that kind of social activity.
Other beneficial activities include puzzles, discussions, handicrafts, and group exercise — relatively light activities that, when done regularly, can help maintain brain function in seniors.
Dr. Ria Maria Theresia found that the Poco-Poco dance, performed together in a group, combines movement, rhythm, and coordination linked to brain training, and can help reduce the risk of dementia/Alzheimer's.
This article was written by Soraya Salim, a psychologist and Co-Founder of Pulih@thepeak, and republished with permission from the University of Indonesia Alumni Magazine, January–April 2019 issue.