Skip to main content

Benefits of Indoor Activities for Older Adults

Covid-19 has forced everyone to stay indoors. This has impacted the process of socialization, stress management that senior citizens utilized in their day to day life. During this time, it has become imperative that indoor games be incorporated into the lifestyle of the elderly for healthy ageing. Indoors games have several benefits for the elderly and their caregivers.

1. Bridging Intergenerational Gap
Covid has forced us to spend more time indoors, the intergenerational gap has been more prominent than ever. Games like Reading; online games (Ludo, chess, Bingo) can encourage not only to develop communication skills but also create common goals. Indoor games can also help increase the level of meaningful activities among all family members. Card Games such as Rummy, Bluff, pinochle are interesting ways to not only stimulate the brain but also engage family members to connect with each other and spend quality time together.

2. Cognitive Decline
Researches have suggested that indoor activities reduce stress, improve sleep. Regular reading also helps with cognitive decline. These indoor activities stimulate the brain and increase attention span. With the increase in audiobooks, the elderly can now also listen to books and engage themselves in a world of fiction or facts.

3. Socio-emotional regulation

Indoor game such as Pictionary has several cognitive and socio-emotional benefits. Among children, games like Pictionary help with socio-emotional regulation. Among the elderly converting the word into an image in the mind requires visualisation, memory, manipulation of mental images and organisation of thoughts. All of these activities lead to mind and visual-motor integration which in-turns facilitate healthy and active ageing. Pictionary also helps regulate the socio-emotional skills of the elderly such as self-regulation, listening, negotiating, independent thinking, taking other perspectives, persistence, and curiosity. Most importantly play fosters focus and communication.

4. Stress Reduction

Yoga and meditation are healthy ways to reduce stress, but if you are an individual who is unable to engage in these activities indoor games are your kryptonite. Indoor games have long backed research suggesting that playing games such as ludo or other board games can reduce stress among all age groups. These games stimulate the brains and foster a space for an individual to connect, belong and actively engage with their family members and engage in sharing life stories and experiences.

5. Active ageing
Although board games may seem childish, there have been well-documented literature on using board games to help the elderly engage in active ageing. Seniors can enjoy games like scrabble, carrom, Ludo, dominoes, world safari, monopoly, bingo. Board games elevate an elderly sense of subjective and psychological well-being. They also activate healthy ageing and reduce stress.

6. Online Games And Self Esteem
Online games such as scrabbles, Ludo, Chess, Candy Crush, Word Puzzle, Bingo are not only diverse but easily accessible. The elderly can compete against each other and also with their children or grandchildren. Online games although cannot replace human touch, can be an interesting way to boost elderly self-esteem and increase their sense of belongingness. Online games are also beneficial to keep the elderly engaged at times when family members cannot be physically present with them.

Playing games even though might seem an unbelievable and easy option towards active and healthy ageing. But as the philosopher William of Ockham said “the simplest answer is most often correct”.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated.

The post Benefits of Indoor Activities for Older Adults appeared first on Samvedna Senior Care.



from Samvedna Senior Care https://ift.tt/3iutdlY
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Connection Between Aging, Exercise, and Healthy Lungs

Enjoying a long and healthy retirement requires taking good care of yourself. While many people focus on living a heart-smart lifestyle, taking proactive steps to maintain healthy lungs is essential, too. As we age, the lungs become weaker and less flexible. This can contribute to a variety of diseases and chronic health conditions. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute , lung-related illnesses are the 3rd leading cause of death in this country. That includes lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma—adding up to nearly 235,000 deaths a year. Here are a few tips you can use to keep your lungs healthy: Stop smoking. Talk with your primary care physician about smoking cessation programs. Avoid secondhand smoke. Research shows it can be just as deadly as being a smoker. Stay away from harsh chemicals. It’s important to avoid breathing in damaging fumes (e.g., home cleaners and weed killers). Prevent infections. Many infections can lead to
Post a Comment
Read more

How You Can Join the Fight Against Alzheimer’s

World Alzheimer’s Month in September is an opportunity to raise awareness about this complex disease and to challenge the stigmas surrounding dementia. Launched in 2012, the awareness month spotlights the fact that 2 out of every 3 people globally believe there is little understanding of dementia in their countries. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia and it is the 6 th leading cause of death in the US, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual report. With the senior population growing quickly, Alzheimer’s and dementia cases will continue to increase as well, unless researchers can find a cure. This upcoming Monday, Sept. 21, is World Alzheimer’s Day, a call to action for all of us to educate ourselves on how to take preventative steps, identify symptoms and support loved ones who have been diagnosed. Read more below to learn how to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s disease. Know the Warning Signs Detecting Alzheimer’s disease e
Post a Comment
Read more

Film Screening at Samvedna Senior Care

On 30th September, 2019, Samvedna Senior Care Foundation hosted the 2nd film festival of generations in association with Heidelberg University, Germany. The film Sputnik Moment – 30 years and beyond was screened at our senior citizen centre in Gurgaon for our members and staff. The film highlighted how senior citizens in Germany and the US were taking up second careers to fill their time, engage meaningfully and also get support through additional income. Post the screening Dr. Martin Gieselmann, Executive Secretary, SAI, Heidelberg University and Dr. Constanze, Coordinator DAAD Project, Heidelberg University along with our team engaged with the audience in an interesting discussion on the Indian scenario. Members shared that in India it is not easy for senior citizens to pick up jobs after retirement, however it was interesting to see that many in the audience did have jobs post retirement. They also spoke about stereotypes and social attitudes towards ageing and shared their per
Post a Comment
Read more