Activities for Seniors in Assisted Living

Seniors in assisted living facilities require many recreational activities to keep them occupied and relaxed. It makes a whole world of a difference to their lives and makes them forget about their worries, illnesses and fears. So what are some activities that seniors can enjoy? Take a look.
Puja Lalwani
Last Updated: Sep 8, 2018
Assisted living facilities are set up for individuals who require assistance with daily activities such as grooming, taking medicine, cooking, and the like. These facilities do not provide 24-hour assistance, but allow individuals who use them to remain independent while helping them perform certain basic activities.
These facilities are available to the young and the old who require such assistance. Now, assisted living can be kind of stressful and emotionally disturbing for individuals who have to leave their homes and be a part of this facility.
As such, activities are essential for seniors who belong here, to get rid of the stress, the loneliness, to encourage socialization, and to make them enjoy every day of their time. What kind of activities can seniors be engaged in? Let's find out.
Activities that Seniors in Assisted Living will Enjoy
When proposing any activity idea, you have to understand that every individual has different abilities. Therefore, not only is a variety in the type of activities needed, what is also needed is the understanding that not every senior may want to participate in every activity.
Seniors should be given the freedom to decide what they want to do and when they want to do it. This will make the entire process more enjoyable. However, it is the job of the facility to encourage seniors to participate in some activities so that they are occupied. So here are some great ideas that can keep seniors in assisted living facilities engaged.
These games do not require them to exert themselves too much, and can be enjoyed comfortably alone or even in large groups. With the choice of games that they can enjoy on this gaming console, there may never be one moment of boredom among them.
Spiritual Activities
This activity has not been mentioned here because of the association of old age and spirituality. It has been mentioned here because discovering one's spiritual needs and abilities is something that every individual should experience, and the same is the case with seniors.
Just like movie night, classic book readings may be organized for seniors. To take it a step further, classic plays may be enacted within the facility as a part of entertainment night. In fact, you may find a lot of volunteers for such activities who wish to do their bit for seniors in assisted living. How can such an evening not be enjoyable?
Nature Walks or Picnics
Exposure to the outdoors is as necessary for seniors, and activities such as nature trails may be a great choice for them.
The idea of these activities is to have the seniors involved and include as many of them in one activity as possible, by getting volunteers who will help conduct these activities so that they are thoroughly enjoyable.
It should be ensured that the health and safety concerns of seniors is always kept in mind when such activities are organized. Yes, some of these activities may increase the cost of assisted living but may be completely worth it when gratitude and serenity is visible in a senior's demeanor.