Recreational therapy can contribute to your senior loved one’s overall health, as well as his or her happiness. This type of therapy involves the use of leisure activities to help older adults manage serious illnesses. Kitchener senior care experts often engage seniors in crafts, music, drama, dance, and outdoor sports to help restore motor skills and brain functioning. Here are four different ways how this type of therapy can help your loved one.
1. Enhances Physical Health
Recreational therapy can help your senior loved one overcome physical challenges due to past injuries or ill health. He or she can participate in activities that can help him or her remain physically fit, and the activities can be customized according to your loved one’s needs and abilities. Some examples include swimming, walking, and seated exercises. These activities can increase your loved one’s:
- Balance
- Mobility
- Agility
- Joint flexibility
2. Increases Socialization
Isolation can lead to depression and loneliness in seniors, which makes them susceptible to heart diseases, stroke, obesity, and other health conditions. However, recreational therapy has a variety of social benefits for your elderly loved one. By simply showing up and helping out your loved one, recreational therapists offer companionship. Group-related activities can make your loved one feel like part of the community and help him or her build relationships with other people. By developing social skills through leisure activities, your parent or grandparent can keep isolation and depression at bay.
3. Boosts Cognitive Function
Recreational therapists work with seniors to restore cognitive functioning, which keeps the mind fit and active. By finding the right set of activities for your senior loved one, a recreational therapist can help slow down his or her cognitive decline. These activities help increase alertness, enhance problem-solving skills, and keep the brain stimulated.
Some of the therapeutic recreation activities that can enhance your loved one’s cognitive function include:
- Trivia games
- Painting
- Playing a musical instrument
4. Eliminates Stress
Therapeutic recreation activities can elevate your loved one’s mood and emotional health by eliminating stress. By engaging in meaningful activities, your senior loved one can develop a real sense of purpose in life. Recreational therapy gives your loved one a positive way to manage his or her current health conditions, financial concerns, and other stressors. Whenever your aging loved one becomes overwhelmed, he or she can use recreational therapy to boost his or her mood and maintain a stronger sense of self instead of stressing about things that cannot be changed.
By engaging your loved one in recreational therapy, you can help him or her stay healthy and active and prevent a wide range of medical conditions. To learn more about this therapy and how it works, contact the leading Kitchener hourly caregivers at Home Care Assistance at (519) 954-2111. Our Care Managers can address your queries and assign a dedicated, therapy-trained caregiver to assist your senior loved one.