10 Fun Activities and Games for Older Adults

Have you heard of healthy aging? It's about helping older adults navigate the later stages of their lives with physical and emotional stability. This involves taking care of their health, but also ensuring fulfillment, fun, and well-being.

Whether you are a professional caregiver or a family member of a dependent adult, you should know that in addition to sharing quality time with the older adult , developing activities to stimulate them is fundamental to their mental health and contributes exceptionally to improving their quality of life.

If you're as excited about this challenge as we are, here are some fun activities you can do with a senior.

Is it safe to do recreational activities with older adults?

It's always safe to provide a patient with a good amount of leisure time. However, keep in mind that activities will need to be adapted to the elderly person's abilities and capabilities to preserve their health.

By this we mean:

1. Check the space to avoid accidents by moving obstacles out of the way.
2. A safe choice for the home or residence environment that we will use to dedicate ourselves to the entertainment of the elderly.
3. That the climate and temperature are suitable.
4. Choose a time of day when the older person feels up to it.
5. Always have their consent.
6. Adapt activities to your psychomotor abilities.
7. Make a prior consultation with a professional if the adult is undergoing rehabilitation or has pre-existing conditions.

Why is it beneficial for the elderly to engage in recreational activities?

Because in addition to promoting and stimulating their physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being , it allows older adults to develop a more integrated relationship with their environment, strengthening their bonds and self-esteem.

Reducing the dependency rate and the feeling of exclusion when someone has sensory impairments (such as hearing and vision) are also benefits of spending time with older adults.

According to the WHO, during pandemics like the Coronavirus, loneliness and isolation among older adults has been a major risk to their emotional health.

That's why it's been so important for caregivers and family members to take extreme measures to protect them not only from COVID-19 but also from depression and related disorders when they've had to remain in isolation. We'll tell you more in this article about Older Adults and Coronavirus.

Guide to activities, games, and entertainment for older adults

1- Activities to promote your physical well-being

• Swimming : It can provide not only physical exercise but also boost an adult's energy and vitality. Furthermore, contact with water is relaxing and improves mood.
• Pilates or yoga : The various low-impact positions and movements combined with a series of breathing techniques can help improve a patient's quality of life . It prevents depression, dementia, and sudden personality changes.
• Walking : Ideal for older adults who want to preserve their muscle mass, improve their cardiovascular health, and maintain a healthy weight. Walking even prevents high blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart problems. 

2- Activities with group dynamics

• Music therapy or dance therapy : Music is the free expression of emotions. Body language helps improve mood and connect with others. It tones and preserves muscle mass and reduces neck and back tension.
• Laughter therapy : Known as laughter therapy, it's ideal for releasing tension naturally, using tools such as board games, games of chance, dancing, or jokes to help older adults have a good time laughing.
• Hug Therapy : It is an emotional way of connecting with others, it generates contact, releases love hormones and strengthens bonds.

3- Outdoor games

Outdoor physical activities promote healthy aging . Through team movement such as passing the ball, improving balance, and playing balloons.

• Among its main benefits…
• Prevents pathologies such as arthritis and osteoarthritis.
• Increases the level of self-esteem.
• Explore and experience new things with people your own age, fostering new friendships and relationships.

Having trouble eating? We'll tell you everything you need to know in this Caregiver's Guide: Assisted Feeding for Dependent Patients

4. Recreational activities that reinforce their self-esteem

To the extent possible and safe, holding group meetings where you connect with positive people and attitudes can be very beneficial.

Writing down happy moments and sharing memories with your group , or passing a ball around and discussing a happy experience, is an ideal and entertaining activity. It's a very emotional activity because it can:

• Encourage and nurture their independence through expression.
• Positive evaluation of your opinion and significant increase in your self-esteem.
• He feels accepted and respected.
• Promotes an active and healthy life by sharing, recognizing and listening to different opinions.
• Feel free to express your opinions without fear.
• It can become an authentic and natural therapy without pressure from third parties.

5. Presentation dynamics

Each person is given a card on their chest with personal information, likes, and hobbies. Once this is done, each participant will pass it around, and it will be read by another person. This generates empathy and affinity among their peers .

6. Fun hobbies to do at home

The competition and challenge of playing is very beneficial for improving communication and the mechanism of relating to teams and individuals.

• Board games : Among the activities for the elderly, dominoes, sudoku, cards and bingo stimulate the brain and encourage agility of thought, promoting social participation.
• I Spy : This is a very interesting game where seniors can connect with the children in their community . It's based on observing an object of a certain color while the other participant must guess what it is.

7. Memory games

Exercising your memory is very important for maintaining alertness and cognitive skills. These exercises improve concentration in a short period of time and keep you active.

• Memory cards: Place the cards face down and randomly pick them up and turn them over until you find a pair. They can be face cards, animated characters, or colors.
• Guess What It Is : This is a game that can connect older adults with their families. An object is hidden in a dark cloth, and they must guess or describe it by touch.
• Guess Who : Ideal for groups of friends and family. It involves blindfolding your eyes and guessing who the person speaking is when they slightly alter their voice.
• Proverb Puzzle : This game is very popular and well-known. It involves saying a proverb halfway through, and the other participant must complete it correctly.
• Naming the Tune: This involves singing, remembering the song's name, and talking about the artist with the people participating in the activity. The player who guessed the most songs correctly won.

If you liked these suggestions, we've included some more in this Caregiver's Life article.

8. Choose one day a week to enjoy a movie

 Sharing a movie with an older adult can be a very rewarding experience. You can take advantage of the opportunity to revisit classic films the senior has seen and wants to relive, or you can also interest them in new themes or explore films with positive values.

In this article, you'll find eight motivational films with beautiful messages that can stimulate the emotions of adults, as well as those of caregivers.

As we age, people can become more dependent due to their limitations. Both family and caregivers must ensure empathy with those around them to improve their quality of life and pace of life in a positive way without causing any emotional downturn.

It is highly recommended that you continue to engage in various individual and group activities that improve your well-being.

9. Stimulation through reading

During old age, stimulating through reading is a way to protect the adult brain, as it is a preventative method for Alzheimer's and reduces the risk of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.

From Caregiver's Life they propose the following reading exercises:

• Select a simple story that contains positive emotions
• Read during the morning, because of the light
• Find a moment of tranquility.
• The reading pace should be slow, taking breaks while reading.
• If the concentration ends, you have to leave the activity for a moment.
• The ideal is to read a couple of pages a day, be consistent so that it becomes a habit.

10. Rational activities associated with speech

It's one of the most complex activities, as reasoning is one of the most important cognitive functions. It not only allows us to think, but also helps us make sound decisions.

You can look for exercises that will engage different aspects of an older adult's mind, whether it's numerical, logical, or abstract reasoning.

In this sense, you can help them solve math equations, or point to a word and ask the adult to find a related word or create a story based on it. It's just a matter of adapting it to their abilities and skills.

Now the secret to a healthy and active mind is in your hands.

As family members and caregivers of older adults, we must always remember that the more mentally active older adults are, the better the prevention and early detection of intellectual disability or cognitive decline.

If you've read this far, you're now a wealth of information, as these activities will help you enhance self-care for adults, improve emotional control, and strengthen interpersonal relationships for the entire family.