If your weekly plans include art projects, pickleball games or a variety of other senior hobbies, then you may already be experiencing some of the physical, mental and emotional benefits of these activities. While regular participation in senior activities is vital for senior well-being, taking up new hobbies further maximizes the potential benefits. In addition to continuing your favorite current hobbies, discover why new hobbies for the elderly are especially important!
Mental Health and New Hobbies for Older People
Have you always wanted to learn to play the guitar? Is your friend encouraging you to join him for a yoga class? According to Medical News Today, learning new skills, especially ones that are cognitively challenging, supports memory function and brain health overall. These new endeavors are more likely to give the brain a workout and keep it functioning effectively. Additionally, new hobbies for the elderly also support a positive mindset. Therefore, to continue supporting your overall well-being or to help a spouse, friend or elderly parent who never seems happy, trying a new hobby is a great choice!
In addition to benefits for brain health and physical health (depending on the hobby), hobbies for the elderly support well-being in many other ways! From learning a new language on an app to trying your hand at gardening, these hobbies may help senior adults reduce stress and better navigate challenges or changes as they arise. While joining a quilting club will not make an injury heal faster, having an activity to enjoy and people to enjoy it with helps combat potential feelings of loneliness or isolation. Additionally, whether in making it through the cardio workout, completing a painting or sharing experiences with others, having a sense of purpose or achievement can further help improve one’s mood.
5 New Hobbies to Try
For existing hobbies, many people already have set routines, such as the established weekly tee times or the schedule of bridge hosts for each month. In deciding to try a new hobby, questions may arise not only in terms of which one to try but also where to engage in hobbies for the elderly. The wellness programming at your senior assisted living community or the schedule of events at your local senior activity center are two great places to look for and try out a new hobby. Here are 5 hobbies for older people that may be offered at these locations:
- Learn a musical instrument: In their interview with multiple specialists, HuffPost highlights this hobby as particularly beneficial for brain health. Additionally, from playing that first note to playing an entire piece, there are many opportunities for feeling accomplished when learning to play piano, violin or any other instrument of choice.
- Nurture a garden: Opportunities to try gardening range from windowsill herb installations to managing community plots such as the raised beds available to Arbors of Hop Brook residents. Whether you contribute to a garden by painting flower pots or do the seeding, watering or weeding, there are also many different ways to be involved in this hobby. This new hobby comes with the added benefits associated with time spent outside, as highlighted by UC Davis Health!
- Try tai chi: This type of exercise supports your physical body, as well as your mental well-being. As discussed by the National Council on Aging, this practice gently helps strengthen muscles and improve balance with proven benefits for fall prevention. It also helps reduce stress through slow movement and attention to energy.
- Discover a new game: Whether you’ve been playing pinochle or doing word searches for years, choose a new game to try! For example, you might simply choose a different card game like rummy or cribbage. Instead of searching for words, play a game like Scattergories where you have to come up with words or do a different search entirely, such as for the right puzzle pieces or birds in the wild.
- Explore different ways to enjoy your current interests: If you are already a regular in the knitting group, that’s great! Have you ever tried painting or photography? Learning new things doesn’t have to mean entirely going out of your comfort zone. Instead, you might explore a different pathway in a field which you already have interest, such as art, dance, sports or cooking. As highlighted at Martha Stewart, you might also enjoy the health benefits that come from teaching that skill to others.
If you are looking to start a new hobby, Arbors of Hop Brook offers many opportunities to do so and is also located just minutes from the Manchester, CT Senior Center. Arbors of Hop Brook is an award-winning senior living community, specifically a Continuing Care Retirement Community that offers comprehensive care for all of our residents’ needs. To learn more about our programs, residences and more, schedule a tour today!