Rocking chairs have been the subject of popular songs a couple times that I remember. During the 1940s, the quartet, the Mills Bros., sang “Old Rocking Chair’s Got Me.” In 1992, country singer, George Jones, who was in his sixties, declared, “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.”
For the past thirty years, my seat in the living room has been a padded rocking chair and matching foot stool. In the beginning, it worked well for soothing grandbabies. Through the years, it has been ideal for reading and watching TV.
A study published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia found that “there were improvements in depression/anxiety and reductions in pain medication significantly related to amount of rocking.” Those residents that enjoyed the program and wanted to continue rocking past the six weeks of the study “demonstrated significant improvements in balance as measured by center of gravity.”
Rocking chairs provide older adults with many advantages. Rocking works the muscles and the tendons of the thighs, the lower legs and ankles helping to keep you fitter.
As little as ten minutes of rocking s day can reduce blood pressure and improve circulation.
The rocking chair combined with some basic exercises can help relieve chronic back pain. The late JF Kennedy frequently used his rocking chair yo help ease his chronic back problems.
R0cking causes the release of endorphins that elevates the mood and relieves pain plus rocking can even lead to some weight loss as you burn 150 calories per hour with this form of exercise.
One of the things I saved from my parents’ home was a little rocker that Mom had recovered several times through the years. It was always one of my favorite perches. I think it must have been part of their original furniture when they married in 1935.
Do you enjoy a rocking chair?