If you’re looking for ideas on how to keep your older residents happy and busy, you’ve come to the right place. Here at the Healthcare Channel we’ve collected 10 fun but still safe activities to do indoors.
1. Perform Chair Exercises
Who says you need to stand up to exercise? Chair exercises designs for seniors are easy on the joints and have proven to provide many benefits for those seeking lower impact activity that gets the blood flowing.
2. Juggling
Once you’ve mastered the technique you’ll always have a hidden talent in your back pocket. Learning to juggle is not only entertaining, but it also helps to improve your hand-eye coordination and motor skills.
3. Try Yoga
Yoga is the perfect low-impact exercise packed with a huge list of benefits.
Work to improve your…
balance, flexibility, joint health, stability, anxiety, blood pressure, and breathing
Yoga is available at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Check out the local studios and what classes your gym may offer. Some community groups coordinate-free or for donation classes where locals meet up and practice together.
4. Start Quilting
Did you know quilting was good for your health? It helps to relieve stress along with increasing cognitive & creative thinking. Quilting clubs or communities offer a great place to socialise and build relationships.
5. Make a Scrapbook
You’ve lived an exciting and fulfilling life, so why not document it? Scrapbooking is another great creative outlet to relieve stress and a perfect project for the elderly. Join a scrapbook club and share your unique story with new friends as you craft away!
6. Learn an Instrument
Did you know it’s easier to learn an instrument as an adult than it is a child?
As an adult you’re set-up much more conveniently, you’ve had a lifetime of listening to music, your attention span is longer, cognitively the concepts make more sense, and you want to learn the instrument- it’s not forced or required.
7. Get a Fish Tank
Put together an aquarium and soak up the tranquillity. A fish tank can provide a calming and peaceful sensation to a room that will improve your mood. Pets are stressful but fish are low maintenance and easy to care for.
8. Puzzles or Crosswords
Start working on the daily crosswords in the newspaper. Make it part of your daily routine to keep your mind sharp. Challenging our brains to a puzzle improves our thinking and can have positive effects on short-term memory. Don’t worry, if you don’t receive a daily paper, you can find puzzles online. The Washington Post has a new one daily!
9. Origami
A simple piece of paper is all you need for this fun, free activity that stimulates brain function and helps you practice hand-eye coordination. The ancient Japanese art of folding paper into shapes and animals provides a tranquil activity that also taps into your creativity.
10. Colouring
Whip out the old art supplies and coloured pencils and take part in an ultra-relaxing activity – colouring. A creative and meditative way to spend time, colouring helps relieve stress and boost your mood. Find free printable colouring sheets here.
