Great Activities for Seniors

When caring for senior citizens and the elderly, keeping their minds and bodies active is very important. Staying physically active can help prevent or maintain different chronic diseases like heart disease. Doing different mental activities can help with memory for seniors who suffer from Alzheimer's or dementia. The only thing is making sure the activities are fun and don't seem like a chore. Here are some fun activities for seniors.

Playing cards can be a great way to stimulate the mind. There are so many different card games that can work. Games like UNO or Dirty Neighbor can be fun and stimulating. Not only does the person need to remember the rules, but they have to plan and strategize what their next move will be. This helps the brain get a work out by triggering different parts of it. You could even play poker, with fake money, and whoever wins gets a prize. Poker will help when it comes to rationalizing as well as planning.

Arts and crafts can be very helpful when it comes to dexterity and hand eye coordination. For those who have arthritis, this can become difficult depending on when the activity is. These can be anything from sewing or cross stitching to painting or playing an instrument. Depending on whether or not the person has arthritis and/or how far advance it is, the crafts that require steadiness of the hand, or completing small details may be difficult. On the other hand this keeps the mind relaying messages to their hands.

Doing yoga or tai-chi can be a very helpful activity that doubles as exercise. These activities help keep joints healthy by stretching and working out different joints and muscle groups. As stated before, exercise can help prevent control different diseases that are common in senior citizens. Also, by making it a group activity, seniors can be more social while doing something good for their mind and body. Many people, not just the elderly, find activities like yoga and tai-chi to be very relaxing.

If the person is in a senior citizen care facility or a nursing home, having movie nights can be quite beneficial. Instead of serving snacks like pop corn, you can serve healthy alternatives like grapes, or carrots. Or, if they are on a good diet and can splurge, you can bring in nostalgic candy and then pop some popcorn as well. A movie night may not seem like exercise in any way, shape or form, but happiness is a major part of being healthy. As they say, laughter is the best medicine, and what is a better way to laugh than at a familiar movie with friends and/or family.

There are so many different activities that senior citizens can get involved that will be beneficial in more ways than you may think. Many nursing homes and elderly care facilities already have activity schedules set in place, but if there is something else that you think of, ask and see if it can be put on your activity list. Living happy and healthy doesn't have to be a chore, simply get involved in some of your favorite activities and you will be well on your way.