U1/309 Hay street, East Perth,
WA 6004 Australia
Aged Care PerthAged Care Perth
Humans are bound to love, interact, socialize, build companionship and engage in several physical, mental and soulful activities for a prosperous and fulfilled life. Do you know what is the most significant lifestyle impact that happens when one grows old?
In this blog, we will understand how lifestyle activities for aged care residents make their life better
Aged care residents often lead dull and monotonous lives with no entertainment and social interactions as family members or friends seldom visit them. This, coupled with a lack of physical activities because of old age, can trigger many negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
To help the residents avoid these emotions and make their lives fulfilling and joyous, aged care centres and their caretakers add many physical, physiological, and psychological activities to their daily schedules. All these activities promote their overall well-being, whether physical, emotional, cognitive, social, or spiritual.
The senior citizen caretakers strive with zest to provide for these lifestyle changes by including activities like taking them for a walk in nature, making group conversation, physical exercise, yoga, dance and painting sessions, bird watching, etc. The purpose of adding a variety of activities is to help every aged care resident participate in these activities and help them live a satisfied and balanced life.
These lifestyle activities for the elderly bring fun, adventure, and enjoyment back to their lives and help them keep free from negative emotions. Performing physical activities, in particular, helps their muscles grow strong and prevent/delay many health problems that come with growing age
The caretakers of aged care residents fulfil their wide variety of lifestyle needs. Let us understand these lifestyle needs in a bit more depth.
Physical activities provide a lot of benefits for aged care residents. Exercise and physical activities help them reduce old age problems such as reduced muscle mass, reduced bone strength, lesser joint flexibility, impaired mobility, etc. Physical exercise also helps residents to improve their strength, balance, and coordination.
Other physical benefits of exercise include increased bone density and reduced risk of fractures or osteoporosis. It also helps to prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart attack, helps to keep cholesterol in check, lowers the risks of stroke, and helps the body heal.
These activities include dancing, running, gardening, freestyle dancing, bean bag toss, bingo, quizzes, BBQs, religious readings, card games, dress-up events like the Melbourne Cup, simple board games, television, bowling, guided meditation, guided conversation, days out, singing, listening to music, or sound therapy, concerts, speakers and presenters, theatres, swimming, etc.
Mental fitness is also an essential aspect of aged care residents’ well-being. The senior citizens are actively involved in various activities for residents to exercise their mental muscles and keep their brains healthy such as puzzles, word games, bingo, card games, chess, checkers, and other mentally stimulating activities that provide the necessary mental workout.
Depending on their skill, choice, and preference, the aged care caretakers provide the elderly with activities for creative expression such as painting, drawing, art, craft, and calligraphy to exercise their creative muscles and keep them mentally stimulated.
After living so many years in their homes, it is overwhelming for aged individuals to shift to an aged care home.
They sometimes feel isolated from their families, and this lack of social interaction can take a toll on them, making them feel lost and causing depression. Luckily aged care homes provide social activities and community participation for such residents.
Various kinds of activities constantly happen to promote social interaction, including sing-alongs, group discussions, etc. One-to-one socialization is also made possible with social activities such as chatting, playing chess, or cards. Socializing and having a solid network inspires confidence and helps to strengthen mental health.
Every human needs emotional support, and elder citizens are no exception. Being away from close ones, they don’t get the emotional support they need. Aged care activities can provide them with much-needed emotional support by inculcating various activities in their day-to-day lives.
Group activities like storytelling, singing, sharing, discussing news, and discussing verses from the bible make them feel emotional support. Making a bouquet for their daughter, spending time with grandchildren, or chatting with their son fulfils them emotionally.
Words of encouragement from the caretakers also help them feel more confident and secure.
As we grow up, we understand that one of the critical components of life includes striving to achieve god. The aged care resident’s need to stay connected to God is fulfilled by conducting meditation sessions, bible reading, group prayers, etc. If interested, the aged care residents are also involved in social work and carrying out donations for meaningful purposes.
As we age up, our cognitive power degrades with time. Certain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes also affect their mental abilities. It is essential to have activities to retain and improve their cognitive health.
Aged care residents are engaged in moderate physical exercises, reading sessions, and board games like chess, checkers, and bridge to improve their cognitive abilities and reignite neural pathways in their brains.
The residents are also involved in lifestyle activities that develop their emotional, physical, spiritual, and cognitive well-being. The lifestyle program is exceptionally entertaining, engaging, challenging, and inspiring for the residents. The aged individuals perform tasks and activities to improve their skills, reignite their passion for living, and make them happier.
Lifestyle activities for the elderly in aged care are essential to ensure their well-being. These activities encourage socializing and friendships among its residents, help them have a sense of purpose and live their lives to their full potential.
Some of the activities are listed below:
To break the monotony of old age living, the caretakers take the elder individuals for outings to various destinations such as wildlife parks, museums, theatres, libraries, trekking, outdoor barbecues, etc.
Trips are organized for residents to go to various historical places, religious places, and local communities. Even simple outdoor trips like walking in the park or sightseeing by a river can serve the purpose.
Getting out of their aged care centres helps them reconnect with the community and fills them with energy.
Aged individuals need to get their bodies moving to keep themselves healthy. Dance and physical exercises such as jogging, yoga, pilates, carpet bowls, etc., can keep them happy and healthy.
The aged care centres plan these exercises and execute them safely, keeping everyone’s individual needs in mind.
They also participate in dance routines, which is a great form of exercise and a great social activity for the elders. For elder residents with lesser mobility, chair dancing is an alternative option. These activities allow them to feel the joy of dancing as well.
Reading is a fantastic activity for the elderly. It provides knowledge, engages, activates, stimulates the mind, and improves cognitive abilities. Aged care centres provide residents with many reading materials, including fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, and magazines.
Storytelling is another fantastic activity for elders which helps them engage with other aged care residents and share the most memorable incidents of their lives, which in turn helps them to make bonds and friendships with each other.
Art and craft help older people to express themselves creatively and engage in creativity. Aged individuals often have a knack for art and are assisted in their efforts to make their masterpieces. It also helps the aged citizens to focus on the present moment. Most aged care caretakers provide amenities for the aged individuals to engage in art and craft activities like painting, knitting, pottery, sketching, quilting, etc.
Singing is a great leisure activity for elders as it helps them express their emotions and socialize with other residents. Older people are motivated to engage in singing songs and praises of god, which help them get spiritually inclined.
Some aged care homes have house concerts as part of music therapy, giving residents the chance to listen to live music performances.
Pets are a representation of love and companionship. Aged residents are often lonely due to the lack of companions. The aged care centres tackle this problem by providing them with furry friends to provide them with companionship and emotional support. Good supervision, vaccination, and nail clipping ensure the safety and hygiene of the pets.
From dogs, cats, and fish to birds and hamsters, there are a lot of pets for the elder aged care residents to spend their time with. Being with pets also increases their opportunities for physical exercise and outdoor activities. It also gives them more chances to socialize with other pet owners.
Faith in god gives senior care residents power and zeal. Aged care homes provide various amenities such as church services, prayers, bible recitation sessions, clergy visits, etc., for residents to involve themselves in spirituality.
Beauty is not exclusively for the younger people; the elders also find joy by beautifying themselves through various procedures such as manicures, pedicures, waxing, facials, skin treatments, massages, and make-up. Beauty services help the elder residents retain the youthfulness inside of them and promote a sense of well-being.
To sum it up, various aged care leisure activities are available to the residents to keep them healthy, fit and find a new purpose in life. Below, we have listed some group or individual activities to improve the lives of the residents and promote their sense of well-being.
Apart from group activities, many individual activities are available for reserved residents who wish to stay alone.
Engaging an aged care lifestyle is the key to health, happiness, and longevity for aged care residents. Every aged care resident has different physical and cognitive abilities, goals, beliefs, and social preferences. The aged care centres aim to fulfil their needs in a leisure and lifestyle program.
A good aged care home conducts surveys to improve the experience for the aged residents and bring a smile to these wrinkled faces.
The activities mentioned above are a sure-shot way for the aged people who sometimes get isolated in their aged care homes, and thus their physical and cognitive abilities decline. When aged people are more engaged in these activities, they become more determined, resilient, and dedicated to solving their health problems and diseases.
Therefore leisure and lifestyle activities for senior citizens are essential to meet their needs and help them make their lives more joyful in aged home care.