By Martina Merashi
Aging is inevitable. But the sad thing is with aging may come limited mobility. Such limited mobility among seniors may be due to injuries like falls or health issues like stroke, severe arthritis, etc. When mobility issues happen, some hobbies or leisure activities that seniors used to engage in to have fun and lift their mood become quite challenging.
That is why if you are a caring relative, friend, or senior caregiver, you should pick at least five healthy hobbies for seniors with limited mobility that they can engage in and make their life more enjoyable. Below are some ideas of hobbies to try:
- Reading
With dementia as a concern among many seniors, reading can be a worthy hobby to help keep their cognitive functioning checked. Do not force reading culture onto someone; talk to them first and let them see its value.
Additionally, if they were scholars or loved reading in the past, reading can help improve their sleeping patterns, avoid boredom, reduce stress, improve their memory and delay or prevent the effects of dementia.
Reading physical books, magazines, e-reading, or listening to audiobooks can all be beneficial for seniors.
- Playing games
Puzzles and games can be another entertaining source for the elderly. There are games that seniors can play online with different apps. Secondly, there are puzzles and games that other household members can engage in with them, maybe on the weekend, during days off, or evening hours.
Some notable puzzles that seniors can play are crossword, jigsaw, and math fun. If gaming is your senior’s thing, picture-seek, cards and classic games are the real deal.
- Genealogy
Apart from having assisted living software for seniors, which are tech innovations used to make the caregiving hustle less challenging, online genealogy innovations can also help make senior life fun and enjoyable. Genealogy, the study of family history and tracing of family linage, can be both a hobby and an essential undertaking for seniors regarding family history preservation.
Websites like Ancestry.com are an excellent place to start this important research. They can add family data and watch their input blossom into family connections, stories and family trees that will run for generations.
As they become engaged in their family history, it’s also good to encourage them to talk about their own history. They can write it down or have a family member record their stories.
- Textile related hobbies
At times, seniors might feel like a burden and less important when their mobility is limited and there is little they can do physically.
Textile activities need less mobility and help them feel vital to their families and society as they create useful objects.
For example, knitting, sewing, weaving, crocheting, embroidery and macramé can be enjoyable and beneficial hobbies. Look for charitable organizations that may accept donations of hats, blankets, pullovers, seat covers, etc. With such connections, they will understand that their hobbies contribute positively to the community.
- Get Creative
Boredom can make anyone irritable, and seniors are no exception. Introduce them to creative hobbies such as coloring, sculpting, painting, or drawing; they can turn their days into fun and enjoyable moments.
Secondly, activities such as family album organization, family recipe book creation and scrapbooks can get your senior engaged. With creative activities, aging brains get stimulated, helping to fight against decreasing cognitive abilities and the onset of anxiety and stress.
Being a caregiver can be challenging, but hopefully, these hobbies will give you some ideas to help keep the aging adult in your life engaged and thriving.
