Wellness means much more than weight loss, or physical health. It involves promoting healthy routines across your life, and developing positive habits and lifestyle changes. These can be individualized for different people. For one person it may be climbing a mountain or running a marathon, for another it may be a walk around the block, or simply finding ways to get off the couch.
August is National Wellness Month, and we wanted to take a look at what that means for our senior population.
How Seniors Can Focus on Wellness
Fight Loneliness – Isolation is a real problem for seniors. For many, family may provide the only social interactions they have. There are a number of ways for seniors to spend more time around people. Volunteering, signing up for a class, or playing more games with visitors can all change that.
More Physical Activity – Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous or difficult. But it may help for seniors to get out and take more walks, or simple yoga poses – becoming physically active can have profound impacts on general wellness.
Find a New Hobby – Sometimes seniors need to find productive ways to pass the time. Taking up a new hobby can help enrich your life and make you happier, at any age. Some examples might be cooking, sewing, woodworking, or learning a new language. What’s the one thing that you’ve wanted to try but never had the time? There’s never been a better time to start.
Read More – Picking up a book is a wonderful way to exercise your mind and enrich your life. What are the subjects that you’ve always been curious about? Surely someone’s written about it. Whether it’s a legal thriller or a book on how to do something technical, if it makes you happy, read it, and soak it in. Reading books is also a great way to combat the shortened attention span issue that comes from too much social media and internet exposure.
Follow Your Creative Spark – If you’ve always loved writing, art, or music, now is the time to act on that love. Maybe it’s woodworking or sewing. Try making something and finding ways to exercise your creativity. This can provide a sense of accomplishment.
Figure Out What Wellness Means to You
This August, it’s time to figure out what wellness means in your world. National Wellness Month is a time to take a step back and look at the habits you’ve developed and examine how you spend your time. What can you do to improve your wellness? Now is the time.
