seniors-playing-gamesMost senior living or assisted living communities have activities and events they hold regularly for residents. A few examples of events that are held here at Manor on Marston Lake are live music, socials, outings and exercise, if you want to see all of them see our event calendar. Events can really add to a community as a whole as well as having great individual benefits for mental and physical health. Senior’s and their families should consider putting a priority toward the community they choose or or residing in having events.

Health Benefits

“Expressing ourselves can actually improve health, both mentally and physically.” – Dr. Gene D. Cohen, MD, PhD.

Dr. Cohen of George Washington University talks about the benefits of creative activities for seniors and how the social interaction is vital to the mental well being.  Many other studies have pointed toward the fact staying active as we age is very important, many studies point to music and exercise but even just the socialization can actually be a health benefit.

Links have been made between creative actives and essential connection to brain cells that are responsible for memory. Having a regular creative activity has also found that it keeps a fresher perspective, which makes us all more emotionally resilient, naturally helping our internal morale. Increases in morale helps boost a positive outlook and actually increases the immune system and helps fight disease. Often times, actives can help to challenge the brain. When the brain is challenged it helps relieve sleep and mood disorders.

Playing games, especially with words or recollection, have been found to improve vocabularies and helps stimulate the memory. This naturally fends off forgetfulness. In a previous post we talked about games to help fight Alzheimer’s. The stimulation of the brain is so important to maintain as we continue to grow older. Listening and playing music has been shown to stimulate the creative part of the brain and keep a more positive outlook. Playing music is also another way to challenge your mind.

At the Manor, we have exercising actives each weekday. Doing regular exercise has shown that is keeps the body more mobile and the mind sharper because of the Endorphin’s produced during activity. The body’s natural release of endorphin’s from exercise helps to keep a positive mood and lessens the perception of pain in the body. Often time you will hear runner’s talk about the euphoric feeling also known as “runners high” this is attributed to the effect of endorphin’s in the body.

Building a Community

Having actives is very important to maintain a close knit community. Their are benefits just from having regular gatherings for the purpose of socialization. Different studies have shown that the effects of socializing can vastly improve someone’s mood. Having these gathering regularly helps to create a social community and ultimately a home you want to be a part of. It can be a bit traumatic to relocate into an assisted living community from independent living. Socializing and having a community that can relate is a powerful benefit to assisted living communities who have regular activity. Too often unseen as a factor in choosing assisted living, having a community and actives can help make the change of living easier.

Making a Difference in Assisted Living

The benefits of  having actives and events in an assisted living community cannot be understated. Having scheduled activities provides both health, physical and mental, and social benefits for residents and the community as a whole. Be sure to look for a assisted living option that has an event calendar, or if you are near Littleton, Colorado schedule a tour and see some of our activities!