The Health Benefits of Laughter Therapy

Did you know that on average a child laughs four hundred times a day where as an adult only laughs twelve times a day!

On a recent trip to the Kidz Up North exhibition we attended a short seminar that was both funny and informative. Isobel Dickson of good-mood-training spoke about the health benefits of laughter and how we all should actively laugh more in our day to day lives to feel the health benefits in the long run. Some of these benefits include the fact it lowers stress and anxiety, it can boost our immune system by 40% for 4-6 hours and acts as an aerobic exercise to tone muscles.

A laughter therapy class would certainly benefit children as well as adults to improve stronger social connections, friendliness and warmth to those around them. Activities you could do for example are:

• Shaking another person's hand with a hearty laughter.
• Tensing your shoulders and then relax with an over exaggerated 'ahhhhh'.
• In a group everybody has to laugh and throw around imaginary confetti.

These are just a few examples of exercises you could do, here is a list of twenty five laughter yoga exercises.

I shall leave you with this inspiring TED talk by Ron Gutman entitled The Hidden Power of Smiling.

How to Make a Sensory Room for People Living with Dementia

A recent publication, how to make a sensory room for people living with dementia, has highlighted the importance of creating the right sensory environment that works well for the people using it. It covers the current state of feelings and thoughts to sensory rooms throughout the UK and offers some great advice on how to make them work better for people with dementia and their carers to work with.    
    
The guide book is written by Dr Anke Jakob, from the university of Kings London and Dr Lesley Collier, from the university of Southampton and was presented at the recent Inside Out festival in London. It highlights the benefits a sensory environment can have, stating that 'residents in the later stages of dementia show positive changes in mood and behavior.' Aiding residents through a sensory based interactive experience could really be the stimulation they need to relax the effects of dementia. Carers who look after people with dementia can also reap the benefits of making their job less stressful and more enjoyable when working in a sensory room.       
    
Adding a modern touch to a sensory room can be harder than it looks and working closely with specialists who have many years of experience will benefit with a stress free process of choosing the right equipment. At Apollo Creative we have built many bespoke sensory rooms for a variety of institutes and establishments providing a positive influence and calming experience for people with dementia and their carers to work with. If you have an outdated sensory room or looking to build one from scratch feel free to get in touch to discuss with us your project or idea.

Link to the guide book: Click Here 

Top 7 Halloween Sensory Activitity Ideas for Kids

With Halloween just around the corner it's time to start thinking how you will celebrate all things spooky! From homemade sensory slime to eye-catching spooky tea light holders we've handpicked our seven favourite and most creative ideas you can make together with your family, friends or school group.


1. Quick and Easy Sensory Slime! 

Make this awesome looking slime using only washable glue, liquid starch and water. You can also add your own Halloween items for added effect. Kids (and adults) will love the sensation of feeling this spooky slime through their hands.

2. Halloween Sensory Bin

This is a great way to not only get your kids senses going but also teach them about colours and objects at the same time. 

3. Jack-O-Lantern Squish Bag 

Ideal for babies and toddlers these easy to make sensory bags provide great interaction for the young ones. You can fill these with all sorts of textures to get kids interacting with them. 

4. Glitter Pumpkins

Glitter Pumpkins? 
Yes, Glitter Pumpkins!
This is a fabulous way for kids to easily create a sensation for the eyes whilst getting their hands (and most probably face) covered with glitter for extra fun and amusement. 

5. Monster Stew

Combine the sensory relaxation of a bath and a Halloween fun filled adventure for little ones with this great idea for a monster stew!

 6. Halloween Tea light holders 
 

Another glitter based activity! using glitter paint to create these great looking tea light holders, make anything from ghosts, monsters and zombies there's no limit to what you can create with these, let you and your kids imaginations run wild.

7. Halloween Discovery Bottles

These are a spooky treat for the eyes and really easy to make. They also remind us of our very own bubble tubes. (although ours are a little less spooky!) 


We hope these ideas have inspired you to create your own sensory Halloween items. Happy Halloween! 

The Waterless LED Tube, an amazing new way to stimulate your senses

The New Waterless LED Tube

Our electronic design team have been very busy this past month creating a waterless LED tube for Apollo Creative. From concept to design to manufacture the team has put a lot of thought and passion into creating a beneficial product to relax and stimulate the senses. Tom, who designed the electronics for the waterless LED tube says, “I really enjoyed working on this project and I'm very happy with the final result, I hope to see it used in as many ways as possible!”
    
Even though Apollo Creative supply water treatment fluid that can counteract the risk of legionnaires disease, some people may prefer to do without water completely. In these situations the waterless LED tube is perfect as it's lights offer a calming, relaxing and stress-free atmosphere ideal for people who need to actively stimulate their senses. It works perfectly in any sensory room with the added benefit of not having to change any water. With its clean modern finish we're really excited to see how we can integrate the waterless LED tube into sensory rooms, exhibitions, retail and beyond. 

The Continuing Positive Development of Sensory Environments

Sensory environments are becoming more available and widely appreciated for the huge features and benefits that they provide. In a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, sensory gardens have been proven to give a positive effect on people who suffer from dementia. Apollo Creative has worked on numerous projects installing sensory products such as bubble tubes into gardens for a relaxing, peaceful experience.  

Sensory products can also be utilised in the retail sector, showcasing products and creating eye catching displays, it is a simple way to entice customers and get excited about a product. Retailers are starting to see the benefits of utilising all five senses of their customers to sell not just a product, but an experience.

A sensory room is one of the most popular ways of using the products that Apollo Creative provide. Utilising a space to install bubble tubes, fibre optic lights, projection screens or bubble walls creates the ultimate sensory environment. A simple web-search highlights the positive effects they have on people from children to the elderly. Sensory environments really are developing to become essential in the therapeutic treatment of patients with mental illness.

Sensory environments are helping us to bring calm to the fast-paced world we live in. Being able to provide a relaxing, therapeutic and exciting experience really is at the heart of our business. We can't wait to see how use of sensory products benefits your life.

  

What is a Bubble Tube and how can you use it?

A bubble tube is a sensory piece of equipment used to provide a relaxing, colourful and joyful experience. First conceived by Ad Verheul and Jan Hulsegg in Holland in 1974 as they were creating 'snoezelens' (Sensory Rooms). A bubble tube uses different coloured led lights that can be controlled by an interactive controller to determine your perfect relaxation point. There are many ways in which our technology can control your bubble tube anything from being touch sensitive to using your voice to change the colour!

People with autism can focus their attention and interact with the eye catching bubble tube. This provides a very relaxed environment for them, the beautiful colours highlight the marvellous bubbles that feature as a centrepiece in any sensory room.

The bubble tube is perfect for educating children, they can learn about different colours and recognise certain feelings they get when seeing, for example, a blue colour to mean cold.

Let's not forget they can be used to showcase products in retail and for any other interactive exhibitions just check out our recent project that was finished in the new CBeebies Land at Alton Towers Resort.

If you use a bubble tube we would love to see it and how you use it, just tweet us your photos to our Twitter page.

Bubble tubes light up Nina's at Alton Towers

Technology designed and created in Knaresborough will form part of a top new attraction at the UK’s most popular theme park.

Apollo Creative has supplied four bubble tubes – colour changing bubbling columns of water – to Alton Towers Resort for the new CBeebies Land, which opened on May 24.

Ben Johnson, a product specialist at Apollo Creative, said: “We were first contacted by Alton Towers Resort in mid-January when they were looking to source some bespoke bubble tubes for the Nina’s Science Lab area, both inside and out.

“Being a UK manufacturer, we were able to deliver exactly what they were after, well before the launch.”

Although Apollo Creative has extensive experience in creating bubble tubes, they are traditionally used in environments such as sensory rooms. Recently, there has been increasing demand for them to create exciting and enticing displays.

Ben added: “We’re seeing a growing interest from retail display and exhibition markets as companies look to draw more attention to their products and company by standing out from the crowd.

“One of our recent projects was to create an interesting display for Clarins to use on its display in Selfridges on Oxford Street in London. This work with Alton Towers Resort reinforces that there are many new and exciting ways the technology can be used – whatever our customers imagine, we can find a way to create.”

The contract with Alton Towers Resort allowed Ben and his team to further develop the technology for outdoor use, such as making them waterproof and including much brighter LEDs.

Dave Reynolds, entertainments assistant technical manager at Alton Towers Resort, said: “It has been great working with Apollo Creative – we were kept informed of their progress throughout the order.

“This meant that when our order arrived we were confident that there would be no surprises. We were also able to connect it to our existing lighting system, meaning we could control the colours to match all our other lights.

“We’re very happy with the finished product and love how the display looks”.