Moving to assisted living can feel like a scary transition. But with the right activities director and assisted living activities, transitioning to senior living can ease boredom and isolation.
“(Residents) work their whole lives and didn’t have time for those moments of fun,” says Bryan Rife, the director of quality assurance for the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals.
Activities at the heart of assisted living range from concert field trips to happy hours to paint and sip events. Other activities help with cognitive health and memory or maintaining and improving physical health.
[READ: A Checklist for Finding the Best Assisted Living Facility]
The Benefits of Active Participation: How Assisted Living Activities Improve Health
Active participation keeps life going. Meaningful activities for seniors can increase joy and improve cognitive health, physical longevity and emotional wellness.
— Cognitive health: Social activities reduce the risk of cognitive decline, since loneliness can impact memory, delayed recall of information, verbal skills and overall cognition, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer Disease Reports.
— Physical longevity: Improving balance and strength is key for preventing falls and improving overall mobility.
— Emotional wellness: “A person’s ability to engage in activities is very healthy for overall emotional wellbeing,” says Sera Levelle, a New York-based clinical psychologist. However, socialization needs to avoid overwhelm. She cautions to make sure the level of socialization is right for the individual based on their own unique needs and wants, especially if they eventually need memory care.
[READ Signs It’s Time for Memory Care]
Top Activities: Physical, Cognitive, Social and Creative Programs
This is only a short list of the hundreds of activities that may be available at assisted living communities.
How to Evaluate a Activity Calendar: Questions to Ask
Before touring a community, spend time with your loved ones asking about activities they enjoy and what they want their future life to look like.
The truth is they may not know what activities they like yet, and a good activities director would help them assess their ability levels and potential interests.
[READ: When Is It Time to Move From Independent to Assisted Living?]
Rife says that an activities director will use a few sources of information to develop activities, including:
— The resident’s activity assessment
— The resident’s past hobbies and occupation (for example, whether they enjoyed working outside or cooking)
The questions you ask should be geared towards not just the activities, but how creative they’ll be in adjusting activities based on the resident’s needs and abilities.
When touring a community, ask these questions about activities:
— Is there a dedicated life enrichment director?
— Are activities resident-led or staff-led?
— Is there a budget for off-site excursions?
— How are programs individualized?
— How do you balance group and alone time activities?
— How do you tell when the socialization is too much for the person?
— What is the staff-to-resident ratio?
— How do they adjust activities for patients needing memory care or other help?
— Are activities based on generation or individual preferences?
Many activities are added on the fly, so never be afraid to ask about an additional activity for yourself or a loved one.
“One gentleman that’s 85 was given a block of wood and a knife and he whittled something out of the piece of wood,” says Rife. It was a recall to when he would sit out with his friends, and “whittle something into creation.”
Some of the best activities allow the activities director and assisted living staff to get to know the residents better.
[Read: What Is Life Like in Assisted Living?]
“I’ll never forget the first time we did Van Gogh and merlot,” Rife says. “There was a 75-year-old lady that came, and she was drinking a glass of wine while she was painting on canvas. I had no idea. Nobody said anything about her being an artist. It was nowhere listed, and she painted this beautiful picture with acrylics.”
Adaptive and Low-Mobility Activities for Seniors
You can pretty much adapt any activity with low-mobility options and it varies by individual, says Elisabeth Halfpapp, co-founder of the CoreBarreFit live and Zoom-based barre program. Her classes include people of all ages, and she also teaches in her father’s assisted living facility.
“The people in wheelchairs near the front desk love doing leg lifts while sitting,” she says.
A few examples of low-mobility activities:
— Weights, especially for upper body: Using a walker requires upper body strength.
— Balance exercises to reduce hip falls: “My father is doing a lot of balance exercises,” says Halfpapp. “He holds on to something and raises his heels up for 30-seconds and back down. It can also be done one heel at a time.” She also recommends rolling shoulders back and looking straight ahead to adjust posture. Wheelchair posture exercises can be assisted by a pillow for back support, she says. Then, the person can roll their shoulders back and look straight ahead.
— Circulation exercises to reduce swelling: Exercises as simple as flexing and pointing feet or lifting knees up can help, says Halfpapp.
— Other exercises and activities: Going to concerts in accessible shuttles, dining out, happy hour, chair yoga, swimming water aerobics, park visits and board games may also be possible with limited mobility.
More from U.S. News
7 Myths About Caregiving and Home Care Costs
The Pros and Cons of Assisted Living
Items Every Older Adult Should Keep in the Medicine Cabinet
Assisted Living Activities: A Guide to Engagement, Wellness and Social Connection originally appeared on usnews.com