Tunes, Throws and Laughter — A Brilliant Session at Dinas Powys Library

Dinas Powys Library was buzzing yesterday. We opened with familiar favourites—Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and ABBA—then rolled straight into seated basketball, hoopla and beanbag target games. Later, a fast-paced describing-and-guessing game had everyone talking and grinning, and we wrapped up with more singing. We even welcomed new faces who’d spotted our Glamorgan Star advert—welcome aboard!

Why this mix works (and the evidence behind it)

• Singing together for mood and connection: Community singing isn’t just uplifting; an RCT (“Sing4Health”) found significant gains in positive affect and social wellbeing for older adults taking part in structured singing groups (Galinha et al., 2022). Broader evidence from the WHO highlights the arts—music included—as a credible route to better health and wellbeing across the lifespan (WHO, 2019).

  
  

• Gentle, seated movement for function and confidence: Chair-based exercise has been shown to improve functional fitness (e.g., upper- and lower-limb measures) in older adults, making it ideal when standing or fast movement isn’t the goal (Angulo-Barroso et al., 2021). Alongside this, regular balance- and function-focused exercise reduces fall rates in community-dwelling older people (Sherrington et al., 2019). Our seated basketball/hoopla/beanbag activities lean into hand-eye coordination, graded reaching and controlled trunk movement—practical ingredients for everyday function.

  
  

• Mind in motion: conversation, recall and quick thinking: Group word- and description-based activities create lively, social cognitive challenges. They echo core principles of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, which has RCT evidence for improving cognition and quality of life in people with mild-to-moderate dementia (Spector et al., 2003), with maintenance programmes helping to sustain benefits (Aguirre et al., 2013).

The best bit? The atmosphere. Friendly competition sat alongside encouragement; jokes, memories and songs flowed between turns. That blend—music, movement and mental challenge, wrapped in a warm social setting—is exactly where therapy meets everyday joy.

References

Aguirre, E., Woods, R.T., Spector, A.E. and Orrell, M. (2013) ‘Maintenance cognitive stimulation therapy for dementia: single-blind, multicentre, pragmatic randomised controlled trial’, The British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(6), pp. 501–508. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.113.137414.

Angulo-Barroso, R.M. et al. (2021) ‘The effect of chair-based exercise on physical function in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1902. doi:10.3390/ijerph18041902.

Galinha, I.C., García-Martín, M.Á. and Lima, M.L. (2022) ‘Sing4Health: Randomised controlled trial of the effects of a singing group program on the subjective and social well-being of older adults’, Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 14(1), pp. 176–195. doi:10.1111/aphw.12297.

Sherrington, C. et al. (2019) ‘Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community’, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(15), pp. 885–891. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2019-101512.

Spector, A. et al. (2003) ‘Efficacy of an evidence-based cognitive stimulation therapy programme for people with dementia’, The British Journal of Psychiatry, 183(3), pp. 248–254. doi:10.1192/bjp.183.3.248.

World Health Organization (2019) What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. ISBN 9789289054553.