Everyone has at least a few favorite hobbies that they enjoy. Some people even regularly try new activities as their primary hobby! In evaluating an assisted living community, it’s important to explore the variety of senior hobbies that are available, because engaging in these activities can significantly impact seniors’ well-being. Below, we highlight how hobby engagement can impact a senior’s physical, mental and emotional health and share how assisted living communities support access to and enjoyment of senior hobbies.
The Importance of Hobbies for Seniors
Engaging in indoor and outdoor hobbies is important for people of all ages but especially for seniors. Seniors can benefit from participating in new and familiar hobbies independently or through their assisted living communities. Here are some of the health benefits linked to various hobbies.
Physical Health
Physical exercise, such as taking morning walks or trying out a yoga class, contributes to a person’s ability to maintain or build mobility, strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance and coordination. As these aspects of one’s physical health tend to decline with age, participating in exercise-oriented hobbies can play an even more vital role in the well-being of older adults, such as fall prevention. Accordingly, comprehensive care communities, like Arbors of Hop Brook, offer not only rehabilitative services post-injury but also a diverse schedule of exercise programs to maintain or improve senior health.
Mental Health
Keeping the brain healthy with hobbies that stimulate the mind requires the same investment given to those that help strengthen the body. Conquering the daily crossword, reading a beloved author’s latest novel, attending a guest lecture or concert, or challenging a friend to chess or a board game are only a few of the hobbies that may nourish cognitive faculties, reduce stress or provide feelings of inclusion and connection. Arbors, for example, recently hosted performances by a local jazz band and concert pianist.
Emotional Health
Hobbies like knitting, painting, and gardening may benefit one’s individual health and the larger community. At Arbors of Hop Brook, the Knitting Committee provides handmade hat and mitten sets to the local Head Start program. Gardeners can talk strategies and goals for each growing season by wielding their green thumbs in the raised bed located on the nearby grounds. These senior hobbies and many others can support emotional health by providing a sense of purpose or cultivating a positive mood and mindset.
An assisted living community or other senior living residence that values senior hobbies and the related health benefits often includes their upcoming and current events in monthly publications, like newsletters, and may highlight daily and weekly activities on a feature such as a community calendar. In addition to the daily joy that can be found in their hobbies, senior adults often experience long-term health benefits like improved quality of life and resilience due to this participation. As further explored by the National Institute on Aging, senior participation in hobbies may even reduce the likelihood for health problems, like dementia or heart issues, and contribute to a longer life!
Benefits of Enjoying Hobbies in Assisted Living
Being a part of an assisted living community enables residents to maximize the benefits associated with their hobbies and their ability to enjoy them. Here are some reasons why.
- VARIETY: In assisted living, residents may have greater access to a more diverse spectrum of hobbies. Activities may be tailored to the needs or requests of participants, and extra help is available to help facilitate safe and enjoyable engagement.
- COMMUNITY: Assisted living makes it easy for hobbies to be enjoyed independently or as social occasions. As shared by the National Library of Medicine, social engagement clearly connects to better health for seniors. If it seems like an elderly mother or other family member is never happy, it may be due to their feelings of isolation or loneliness or not being able to experience previous hobbies with others.
- CHOICE: For some seniors, personal health considerations may have limited their enjoyment or choice of hobbies and other activities when they were living on their own. At Arbors of Hop Brook, activity coordinators and support staff facilitate both offsite opportunities, like trips to local restaurants and area shopping excursions, and in-house events including scheduled game times, spiritual services, exercise programs, or art-based activities.
- LESS STRESS: Another benefit of enjoying hobbies in assisted living is that seniors can enjoy them in a stress-free manner. For example, there is no need to drive, and organizing transportation services is typically handled by the activity coordinator. Similarly, the physical or emotional strain of preparing to host the weekly bridge group is removed but the card playing can continue.
To create the most enjoyable and beneficial living experience for yourself or a loved one, prioritize the exploration of senior assisted living activities. Whether the goal is to continue current hobbies or explore new ones, the opportunity to enjoy senior hobbies is an investment in caring for one’s health in a holistic way. In addition to the other incredible services and amenities at Arbors of Hop Brook, our wellness programming is one of the many features that distinguishes us from other assisted living communities. Contact us today to schedule a tour and learn more about the opportunities awaiting you at Arbors of Hop Brook.