It’s all too easy to imagine assisted living homes as dingy, hospital-like places with dull residents. Reality is quite the opposite. Today, assisted living residents can participate in social practices, tea-time chit-chats and other assisted living activities that help them lead a better and healthier life.

Now, what’re the most sought-after assisted living activities out there?

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What This Article Covers:

• Activities
  • Indoor Activities
  • Outdoor Activities
  • Recreational Activities
• Importance
• Next Steps

Activities

‌For assisted living residents, keeping the mind fresh and the body mobile is the key to a healthy life. Families of residents in assisted living facilities want to make sure their loved ones get all the amenities required to live a peaceful life.

You need to ensure that ‌residents get proper exercise and social exposure at a facility.

But what about making residents’ lives more engaging and interesting? For this, organizing assisted living activities are essential. There are many forms of activities, and each provides a few particular benefits for participants.

It’s also your task to ensure that ‌residents feel engaged and happy while taking part in activities. Avoid events where residents will require excess help from staff — it can become taxing after a point.

That said, what’re the best activities you can introduce to provide an optimal experience for residents? Let’s have a look.

Indoor Activities

As an administration member at an assisted living facility, you want to provide the best experience for residents. Therefore, carefully picking indoor activities is paramount to success. Assisted living activities can be categorized into indoor, outdoor and revitalization activities.

Indoor activities usually occur in an assisted living facility’s community hall or common room. Now, let’s look at a list of the most popular indoor activities.

Crafting

Crafts can be one of the best assisted living activities as it encourages residents to be creative and learn a new art form. They can also team up and hold friendly competitions with others. Knitting, crocheting and cross-stitching promote motor skills and increase focus.

Board Games

Monopoly, Sorry! and backgammon are a few examples of enjoyable past times for people of every age. Board games help residents follow simple instructions, have friendly competitions and make new acquaintances.

Any board game provides a unique set of instructions that can help keep residents engaged and happy.

Music

Music always soothes the mood and makes us happy. Similarly, for seniors, music is vital in helping them unwind. You can host musical chairs and games that allow residents to sing or listen to music.

One of the most useful benefits of music is bringing back old memories. It can even help with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Key facts about mental health show the loss of memory and motor skills in people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

However, according to Northwestern Medicine, the part of the brain that stores long-term music memories is one of the last to be affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia.

So even as other memories fade, you can evoke emotional memories through familiar songs. It’s also a great way to promote physical responses, such as tapping along to a beat.

Dinner Parties

Is there anyone who doesn’t like to dress up and go to a fun dinner party? People of all age groups love participating in a recreational evening with friends.

Arrange a ball or dinner party where ‌residents can go and socialize with their families and make new friends. Apart from parties, cooking together and picnics are also ways to promote getting to know and befriending each other.

Sensory Rooms

Patients with dementia and forgetfulness can use ‌sensory rooms to help calm themselves down. These rooms equip customizable sensory solutions for every user. Sensory projectors use data on patients’ memories to create an immersive atmosphere to increase engagement and communication.

This can prove to be one of the most useful indoor assisted living activities for seniors. Furthermore, you can also provide reminiscence therapy in carefully calibrated sensory rooms.

Skill Building

Learning new skills never stops. Residents might find it interesting to learn a new skill or continue practicing the cognitive and motor skills they have. Working on new and existing skills can help keep them dependent so they require minimal help from staff.

Several exercises and meditation techniques can help them improve memory and practice motor skills associated with everyday work.

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Outdoor Activities

Physical activities are important to remain healthy, mobile and active as we age. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults of age 65 and above require 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week such as brisk walking. Or they need 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity such as hiking, jogging or running.

With that in mind, organize outdoor activities to help ‌residents stretch their legs and strengthen their muscles. For your benefit, we’ve prepared a list of some popular outdoor assisted living activities. Let’s have a look.

Birdwatching

Birdwatching can be a very delightful experience. You can organize small groups and take them to a wildlife sanctuary or park to watch colorful and feathered birds in their natural habitats. Residents can carry cameras and binoculars to catch the sights and have a great experience with the rest of the group.

Day Trips

Planning indoor activities will seem ‌easier than outdoor activities. However, outdoor activities can often have a more lasting impact than board games and crafting. Planning day trips is an assisted living activity that takes little time to plan but can have great benefits.

Now we aren’t saying you have to plan one for every weekend. But once in a while, a change in scenery will keep residents busy and take them outside of their daily routines. A visit to a museum or art gallery, for example, can provide a great afternoon outing.

Exercise Sessions

Group exercises, such as aerobics, yoga, walking and weight lifting, help residents improve flexibility and have fun. It can also help them lead an active lifestyle and enjoy good health for a long time. We advise you to hold exercise sessions in open spaces in the community.

Sports and Yard Games

Swimming, tennis, golf, bocce, shuffleboard and croquet are some assisted living activities that can help residents feel energized and provide significant exercise. Try to organize these outdoor activities at regular intervals. You can also encourage them to form teams and compete against one another in friendly competitions.

Revitalization Activities

While many may say that exercise and outdoor activities are the best way to keep residents fit and healthy, relaxation can also counter health challenges. It can help release positive chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.

On top of your regular indoor and outdoor activities, you can also organize revitalization activities.

Spa Treatments

Among all the assisted living activities, relaxation sessions, if organized correctly, will provide many benefits to residents. They can reduce depression, anxiety and agitation.

Organizing spa and massage sessions once a month can be a good idea to help residents relax and feel refreshed.

Morning Strolls

According to WebMD, the benefits of a morning walk include higher life expectancy, especially for those who indulge in regular one-hour, brisk walks or a total of 150 minutes of walking per week. Walking can increase blood circulation and strengthen the heart.

Spiritual Activities

Meditation, prayer services and art sessions can provide a new perspective to residents. Many senior care facilities provide a prayer room for residents to practice faith as and when they please. For secular residents, you can provide soul-nurturing therapies.

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Importance

Assisted living facilities, independent senior living and skilled nursing facilities aim to provide the best experiences for residents. These places provide care and pave the way for residents to socialize and stay active throughout their stay.

To that end, organizing assisted living activities is crucial. These indoor and outdoor activities can promote mindfulness, decrease anxiety and depression, and give residents a fun and fulfilling stay. Let’s see some of the benefits of assisted living activities.

• Maintain Activeness: Participating in indoor and outdoor activities is a great way to stay active. Encourage residents to find and participate in ‌activities that suit their interests.
• Improve Physical Health: Staying active and participating in exercise sessions and outdoor games can help improve residents’ physical wellness. Physical activities help counter heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.
• Increase Mindfulness: Activities such as reading, dating and saying regular prayers can play a vital role in increasing mindfulness among residents.

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Next Steps

Maintaining an engaging environment in an assisted living facility is vital. To that end, selecting assisted living activities best suited for residents is a job that you shouldn’t take lightly.

These indoor, outdoor and revitalization activities help seniors maintain a purpose in the later stages of life. Participating in activities opens doors for them to socialize and make new friends. These events also contribute to physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Consider long-term care software if you run an assisted living facility and want to improve your activities. It can help you schedule and organize activities. You can reference our comparison report to begin evaluating top products.

Which assisted living activities do you think are the most beneficial? Leave comments.