There’s nothing quite like a bright, sunny spring day to put a little extra pep in your step. Spring is a season of renewal and fresh beginnings, so it’s a wonderful time to channel that sun-fueled energy into creating some healthy new habits for yourself.
Staying active in assisted living is essential for maintaining your independence and your overall wellness. The more actively engaged you are — physically, mentally and emotionally — the greater quality of life you can expect to enjoy.
Atlanta’s beautiful spring weather makes it especially enticing to get out and about, so in honor of spring’s arrival and a season filled with promise, take time to gather some practical tips designed to motivate and encourage spring wellness for seniors.
What Wellness Means
When you think about wellness, you probably think about getting more exercise and eating right, and those are both excellent examples of habits that support healthy aging in assisted living. However, wellness is much more than your physical health. It also involves your mental state and your emotional balance.
Wellness encompasses all aspects of your physical, mental and emotional health, but it also involves your personal relationships, your spirituality and other variables like your sense of purpose and ability to express yourself.
In a community like Canterbury Court, residents have the ability to explore their holistic well-being in a variety of ways. They have access to an array of assisted living wellness tips and resources to meet their unique wellness needs. It’s an environment that supports active and healthy aging by treating wellness as a whole-self process.
Wellness Tip #1: Staying Active in Assisted Living
It’s true that physical activity is essential for your overall wellness. It plays a role in your cardiovascular health, helps you manage chronic conditions, promotes better balance for safer mobility, supports your bone density, releases natural feel-good hormones and much, much more.
Fortunately, when it comes to physical activity, you don’t have to spend all your time, or even any time, in the gym if you don’t want to. You can make an impact doing activities you already enjoy. Even gardening counts as physical activity!
Here are some ideas for incorporating more physical activity into your everyday routine when you’re working at staying active in assisted living:
- Find a friend and take a morning stroll around your community. The Legacy Gardens at Canterbury Court offer a serene and scenic setting for some light exercise.
- Visit the heated pool and practice your favorite stroke or use the water’s natural resistance as a gentle counterweight while you perform low-impact arm and leg exercises.
- Take the long route to your favorite dining room for a meal. Add an extra challenge by working to increase your pace each week.
- Fill some empty time in your schedule by joining a senior-friendly fitness class that emphasizes stretching and balance, such as Pilates or yoga.
- Visit the resident greenhouse or tend the plants in your own personal gardening bed.
- While watching your favorite TV program, work through a series of leg lifts, arm raises and toe taps.
Wellness Tip #2: Engaging with Your Neighbors
One of the greatest advantages of an assisted living community is the chance to build friendships with your neighbors. After all, social connections factor heavily into your overall wellness. Establishing social ties minimizes feelings of loneliness or isolation, which can actually affect both your mental and physical health.
But that’s not all. Researchers have also found that seniors who have strong social connections also tend to be more active. That’s because they have added reason to venture out of their apartments and participate in activities within the community and beyond.
While you can always introduce yourself to neighbors, another way to make new friends is taking part in special community programs, such as volunteering, joining a resident choir, taking up a new hobby or engaging in lifelong learning. In addition to the intrinsic rewards of participating in activities that bring personal pleasure, these are great places to meet people who share common interests with you. They offer a natural way to break the ice and open opportunities for friendships to flourish.
Wellness Tip #3: Advocating for Your Own Wellness
By nature, wellness is a deeply personal pursuit. While there are some general guidelines that apply to everyone, such as recommended daily exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, achieving a state of wellness depends on each individual.
More than that, wellness isn’t something that simply happens; it’s an ongoing process you work consciously to achieve. Periodically making an honest assessment of your wellness — mind, body and soul — can help you determine which areas need more attention. If you’re not sure, asking for guidance from a wellness coach can help you pinpoint areas affecting your overall wellness and create a plan to work toward a better quality of life.
Wellness Tip #4: Keeping a Positive Outlook
As an assisted living resident, there are probably some things you can’t do as easily as you once did. That’s a very natural and normal part of aging, and it doesn’t have to have a profound effect on or limit your overall wellness. Keeping your focus on what you can do (walking instead of jogging, for example) means you’re able to retain your independence and actively steer your own wellness journey. That sense of control is a powerful tool in achieving your wellness goals and defining your lifestyle on your terms.
Wellness Tip #5: Prioritizing Healthy Sleep Habits
After so much talk about staying active in assisted living, it may seem like a radical change to shift gears to sleep. In fact, both are essential for wellness. Sleep is when your body rejuvenates itself and all your systems recharge. Without adequate sleep, you don’t have the energy to keep up with the physical aspect of wellness, and when you’re poorly rested, you’re more likely to experience moodiness and a shorter temper.
Put simply, a lack of sleep throws roadblocks in your path to wellness.
Getting enough sleep isn’t always as easy as it sounds, but getting more physical activity can help. Other ideas to promote better sleep include setting a regular bedtime; following a familiar routine each night; avoiding sleep inhibitors like caffeine and screen time in the evening; and ensuring your sleeping environment is comfortable, from the sheets to the temperature.
Ready … Set … Wait!
If you’re feeling energized and ready to start a new wellness journey, that’s wonderful news! But before you begin, there are a few more things you should know about staying active in assisted living:
Your care team’s input is important. Talk with your doctor and others involved in your care about your desire to be more active. They can help encourage you and offer advice about how to prevent injuries or address other medical concerns.
Make sure you’re well prepared for the activities you plan to pursue. Walking requires a sturdy pair of well-fitted shoes with cushioned soles and plenty of grip. The spring air can carry a chill, so consider dressing in layers that you can shed if you get warm or add if you feel cool. Make sure you stay well-hydrated when exercising, especially while outdoors or when you’re working up a sweat.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your community’s wellness staff can meet with you one-on-one and help create a personalized plan that focuses on your strengths while helping you work toward the goals that matter to you most.