Elder Retired Volunteers Benefit From Giving Massage Therapy to Infants
- 1 June 1998
- journal article
- other
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Applied Gerontology
- Vol. 17 (2), 229-239
- https://doi.org/10.1177/073346489801700210
Abstract
This exploratory within-subjects study compared the effects of elder retired volunteers giving massage to infants with receiving massage themselves. Three times a week for 3 weeks, 10 elder volunteers (8 females, mean age = 70 years) received Swedish massage sessions. For another 3 weeks, three times per week, the same elderly volunteers massaged infants at a nursery school. Receiving massage first versus giving massage first was counterbalanced across subjects. Immediately after the first- and last-day sessions of giving massages, the elder retired volunteers had less anxiety and depression and lower stress hormones (salivary cortisol) levels. Over the 3-week period, depression and catecholamines (norepinephrine and epinephrine) decreased and lifestyle and health improved. These effects were not as strong for the 3-week period when they received massage, possibly because the elder retired volunteers initially felt awkward about being massaged and because they derived more satisfaction massaging the infants.Keywords
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