As people age, their health and wellness become increasingly important. For seniors, holistic senior care is the best way to maintain overall wellbeing. This type of care includes a variety of activities that promote physical, emotional, and cognitive health. In addition to holistic senior care, there are many things seniors can do within their retirement communities to stay healthy and active. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of holistic care as well as the top 10 senior home activities for lifestyle wellness!
Why Holistic Senior Care?
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), approximately one out of four adults over the age of 65 is considered to be socially isolated. Along with social isolation can come a slew of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, which are known to have physical manifestations as well. Clearly, keeping active in our older years is a vital aspect of maintaining our health. By cultivating a lifestyle that includes physical movement, socializing, balanced meals, and even creative pursuits, senior care facilities can offer their guests a better look at health—one that looks at the whole person, not just their vitals.
If you live in the Sacramento area, you’ll notice there are several assisted living and senior care facilities to choose from—so what sets Jazba apart? At Jazba Care, we believe in holistic senior wellness, and that health is not as one-dimensional as simply remembering to take our pills on time. By taking a holistic approach to senior wellness, our compassionate staff looks at the overall lifestyle of our residents and keeps tabs on their mental and behavioral wellness, socialization, physical activity, and diet. By balancing each of these important tenants of health, Jazba Care helps its guests not only live longer lives but richer lives as well.
Top 10 Senior Home Activities for Holistic Wellness
While the staff at Jazba takes holistic senior wellness seriously, with the right mindset, keeping active and healthy can actually be quite a bit of fun. Here are the top 10 activities elders can do to promote their health while living in a senior home:
- Swimming: This is some of the best, safest exercise that seniors can get. If you’re looking for an extremely low-impact way to get the heart rate up that also has the benefit of being easy on the joints, swimming laps (or even water aerobics) is a great way to keep the body moving and promote a general sense of physical health.
- Playing cards: Solitaire is fun, but group card games are preferred in a senior home as they help build feelings of community and stave off loneliness and mental illness. Not only are card games a fun, widely-appreciated group activity that gives seniors a reason to gather, but it also has the additional benefit of requiring strategy; this keeps cognition in sharp shape, which has untold health benefits.
- Working a puzzle: Whether you like sudoku, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, or board games, this can be another way to keep the mind active well into your golden years. Whether you opt to work your puzzle on your own or enlist the help of a peer, puzzles, board games, and memory exercises are a great way to keep your thinking on track and work towards better mental and emotional health.
- Going for walks: Sometimes, there is no medicine like getting out in nature, feeling the fresh air and sunshine, listening to the birds singing, and smelling the seasons mature around you. Going for walks is a gentle way to raise the heart rate and raise dopamine and endorphin levels at the same time—perfect for maintaining a positive state of mind. Better yet, participate in a community garden for the soothing and grounding effect of growing your own vegetables or flowers!
- Making or listening to music: Whether you play an instrument or simply appreciate music, spending time immersing yourself in music can not only positively impact your mood, but also stimulate areas of the brain that might otherwise not typically receive stimulation. Playing an instrument takes physical, emotional, and mental coordination to be working in harmony…and even if you simply put your favorite artist on, you are likely to trigger your brain to produce dopamine.
- Dancing: While you can absolutely dance by yourself in your room, it’s more fun when it’s a party…so grab a partner, put on some music, and seize the day! Dancing with friends and loved ones can get your heart rate up, work your muscles, and release endorphins—not to mention the social activity will likely improve your mood as well.
- Participating in group spiritual practice: We’ve talked about physical, mental, and emotional nourishment, but what about spiritual nourishment? For some, this may mean a group Bible study, while others might prefer yoga, meditation, or some other spiritual practice. Providing a space for seniors to come together and look for deeper meaning can improve their quality of life and therefore their overall health.
- Taking a cooking class: There’s never been a better time to take an interest in how to prepare and enjoy nourishing and interesting food. Not only will taking a cooking class improve your physical health, but it may even increase feelings of autonomy and independence, which are treasured as we age.
- Trying out a new language: Looking for another way to push yourself, mentally? Try learning another language. Whether you find a program or a peer that speaks a language you’d like to learn and converse with them regularly or you download one of the many language apps, it’s never been easier to try your hand at getting by in another language. With learning new words comes not only an increased vocabulary but an increased capacity to make new meaningful connections.
- Picking up a new creative hobby or volunteering: Still looking for ways to care for yourself? Why not pick up a creative hobby you’ve always told yourself you’d do “someday”? Painting, sketching, watercolors, poetry…now is the time to stretch your creative side and have some fun with what you come up with. If expressing yourself doesn’t feel meaningful to you, look for ways you can give back to your community, such as volunteering at a local food bank. This has the twofold benefit of providing a sense of purpose and also opportunities for socializing.
Sacramento, CA Senior Home With Attentive Staff
Some people mistakenly think that once they make the decision to retire, their life is “over.” In fact, in the right senior home, nothing could be further from the truth. This is why it is essential to do your research before you settle on where to spend your retirement and look for a facility that emphasizes holistic wellness over traditional, strictly medical wellness. With ten activities to consider upon your entry to a senior home, you are now well-equipped to make the transition a joyous and meaningful one! (For more information on what holistic senior wellness means, check out our recent article on the topic.)
Looking for a senior home in the Sacramento area with attentive, compassionate staff dedicated to their clients’ holistic health? Contact Jazba Care today!
