Independence can be a long time coming for the young, and so seem hard to gain, but for the seniors in our community it is easy to lose. However, there are ways to maintain independence. If you are in that position, you can have assisted housing. If you are having trouble remembering things, then you can Get Memory Care. The two can come in combination. In addition, there are clubs that you can join to keep the mind active, and holidays targeted towards certain age groups that can be booked to have something to look forward to. If you are a concerned relative, then you will find this article equally useful to read.
So, let us begin with a place to stay.
Housing
Housing complexes that allow senior residents to still live by themselves are a wonderful way of promoting independence in the elderly. Everyone would agree with that. Support can be given to enable residents to cope and maintaining association with others will encourage a feeling of being part of a community, rather than just being left alone to feel isolated. An inviting environment can be so helpful to aiding memory. In senior housing, there will be reminders of a pleasant and similar activity that has taken place on a previous occasion everywhere. Feeling that you are among others in the same situation is a comforting experience when in the senior age band. Activities stimulate, whereas too much time alone can lead to unhealthy reflections. Everyone will be in the same situation and understand each other. At the same time, they can share their different experiences and make for many interesting stories. Long may assisted housing be an option for later in life. It gives peace of mind to those enjoying it and those families who want to know that their elderly relative is happy and entertained and made to feel twenty or so years younger because of where they live.
Clubs
Various clubs can help to keep the mind active, as can all sorts of other brain-stimulating activities. Playing card games such as bridge has a purpose in that you can win and see it as an achievement. A puzzle completed by yourself does not have that same effect. Although, they do aid memory and concentration. For those good with words, there are crosswords, and for those who excel with numbers, perhaps because it was their career, there are Sudoku puzzles. In addition, puzzles comprising of pieces that fit together, can further enlarge memory capacity. For those still feeling energetic, bowling or golf can be the source of competition. Rather than drinking tea, why not tee off, as the expression goes?
For information about the card game Bridge, check out the link.
Holidays
There are holidays that are geared up to certain age bands. Just as young clubbers make for the club scenes of the Spanish holiday resorts such as Ibiza, the more senior among us will arrange holidays more suitable and enjoyable for them. Where the temperature is warm, and the ground is flat and easy to walk on. Where there are no lights bouncing around the floor. Where the music is not so loud that no conversation at all can be heard. Cruises are not the only option, there are peaceful country resorts where you can draw and paint and remember how you were top of the art class at school. For those not that good, you can always claim it was an abstract piece. Painting is an excellent way of remembering as it uses imagination as much as it focuses on the subject that is in front of someone. You can have fun with it and put your own elements into an oil painting or watercolour. You can be one step ahead of your art teacher who will question just where that extra detail came from. In truth, it was from a memory someone thought was long forgotten.
So, in closing, we have discussed some reasons to be positive and unique ways to stay independent, even in later life.