Moving into a retirement community has many benefits for you or your senior loved one. Recreational activities organized by the experienced and passionate team at Lakeside Gardens plays an important role in helping to maintain and improve the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive well being of seniors. Every month, there is a calendar all the senior residents receive which include a visual view of what is going on at Lakeside Gardens in terms of recreational programming. This also helps them better plan out and prepare for what is planned in the upcoming days at the retirement community here in Nanaimo.
Here are 6 benefits recreation activities have on seniors:
1. Creative and artistic activities can boost seniors brain health
Recreation activities such as drawing, painting, crafts and creative writing allow our seniors to think outside the box and get creative with their ideas. Whether they create abstract art pieces or tell a story through their writing, they will be using the creative part of their brain.
2. Participating in musical activities can increase happiness and longevity
Music is known to be the best medicine for happiness, and combining it with activities that allow our seniors to get up and move around is even better as they get to stay active but have fun as well. Activities can include singing, dancing, drumming, and much more.
3. Connecting through social activities can combat loneliness in the retirement community
If you are new to the Nanaimo retirement community, you may not know how to make new friends and are worried about not having someone to talk to. Through many recreational activities, you can easily bond with other residents through mutual interests as you are participating with them to form that social connection.
4. Focusing on the positives and living in the current moment in a retirement home
If you or your senior loved one consider yourselves to be overthinkers or anxious about something else on your mind, many activities force you to forget about everything else and just focus on what you are doing in the current moment. This can also help you think of things from a positive perspective as you only focus on what the activity is teaching you or how it is making you feel.
5. Activities that involve movement can increase flexibility and better balance
The monthly recreation calendar here at Lakeside Gardens always has some sort of physical activity program for the senior residents to enjoy at a slower pace so they can easily follow along and stretch out their muscles. Activities like yoga, tai chi, and sitting exercises also increase flexibility and improve their overall balance.
6. Playing games can keep you mentally sharp
Board games or puzzles challenge the senior residents at the Nanaimo retirement community to improve their memory and problem solving skills to ultimately keep their mental agility and cognitive skills sharp.
If you’re looking for a seniors retirement community in Nanaimo that offers a variety of recreational activities, Lakeside Gardens is here for you. Call 250-756-0799 or click here to book a tour at Nanaimo’s warm and friendly independent seniors community.