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How to Keep Seniors With Limited Mobility Active

It goes without saying that seniors have just as great a need to stay active as anyone of younger years. Sometimes, it is even more vitally important for them to enjoy some of the activities we scoffed at in years gone by. This would almost always include mental pursuits that exercise the brain because we were usually too busy gadding about to sit still long enough to pursue mental challenges. Now, with the fear of dementia setting in, those mental exercises have become all the more important, and with limited mobility on top of that, it’s a no-brainer – pun intended. So then, how do you keep seniors with limited mobility active? That’s a very good question!

1. Join a Book Club

Pathway to Living Windermere senior living Memory Care services, for instance, always encourage mental pursuits because they help to alleviate the progression of dementia. While dementia is, indeed, a progressive condition, it can be slowed to some degree and typically mental exercises help a great deal. 

Joining a book club where members read a book weekly then meet to discuss the plot and the author’s craft in detail, they are challenged to think creatively. Just as the body is strengthened with exercise, so too is the brain and why reading and discussions can significantly slow the progression of cognitive disorders.

2. Chair Exercises

Although it isn’t always possible for seniors with mobility issues to stand and do any kind of floor exercises, there are many chair exercises that can keep the upper body strong and firm. These kinds of exercises can also help to strengthen the lungs while keeping blood circulating in the body. Three weekly sessions should help a great deal.

3. Enjoy the Fresh Air

Whether they have motorized chairs or someone to wheel them outdoors, a bit of sunshine and fresh air is an ‘activity’ that does the spirit well. There is nothing like the sound of birds chirping in the trees above you, the warmth of sunshine on your body, and the soft breeze wafting over you to keep you emotionally healthy. When it comes to exercise, the entire being needs to be refreshed, and that includes the body, mind, and spirit.

4. Visit With Friends and Family

This is something that many Italian American families have a good laugh over when getting together for a bit of family fun. If you have any Italian blood in you, you will understand this completely. We tend to talk more with our hands than with our mouths. Can you consider that an exercise? If not, at the very least it’s more active than the average person when enjoying a bit of lively conversation! With that in mind, the next time you get together for a bit of socialization, try conversing as the Italians do! It’s all in a day’s fun.

There really are so many ways to stay active, so don’t let life pass you by just because you aren’t as mobile as you once were. Approach each day with the joy of living and you will certainly find more ways to stay active than you had ever imagined possible.