[November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
November brings more cold days, and it’s a time when many older adults spend more days indoors.
People tend to move their bodies less, but it’s best to stay as active as possible and promote circulation.
Improved circulation can be expected to have certain benefits, such as helping prevent illness, relieving stress, and stabilizing mental well-being.
Moreover, November is also a time when interactions with others tend to decrease.
When social contact declines, many older adults experience cognitive decline and feelings of loneliness.
With that in mind, this time we’re introducing health ideas for seniors that are recommended for November.
We’ve gathered plenty of easy indoor exercises and games, as well as crafts themed around November.
Please use these as a reference and give them a try.
- For Seniors: Simple and Fun! November Recreation Ideas
- For Seniors: December Health Topics — Winter Recreational Activities to Warm the Body and the Heart
- [For Seniors] Recommended Trivia Quizzes & Fun Facts for November
- [For Senior Facilities] Lively and Fun! November Quiz
- [October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Seated Activities You Can Do
- Recommended Indoor Exercises for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Recommended in December! Safe and Fun Indoor Recreation
- [For Seniors] Liven Up November Day Services! Fun Autumn Event Ideas
- [For seniors] January health topics: A roundup of popular recreational activities from exercises and crafts to New Year’s games
- September Health Topic: Introducing Recreational Activities That Capture the Feeling of Autumn’s Arrival
- [May Health Topic] Introducing recreational activities for seniors!
- [For Seniors] Fun Origami Ideas to Feel the Season in November
[November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults (1–10)
Potato Digging Game
Speaking of autumn, it’s all about digging up sweet potatoes, isn’t it? A game where you search for sweet potatoes inside a box can help stimulate the brains of older adults, too.
Put felt sweet potatoes and newspaper-made fallen leaves into the box.
Once it’s ready, reach in and search for the sweet potatoes.
Be careful not to grab the fallen leaves by mistake.
You could also expand the fun by putting felt insects or other items in the box instead of just sweet potatoes.
This game can spark communication and even improve sleep quality, so I highly recommend it.
circulation-boosting exercises
Around November is when it starts to feel not just “chilly” but outright “cold.” We tend to spend longer stretches in the same position—camped out in front of a heater or huddled in a kotatsu with our backs rounded.
Some people find themselves tensing up from the cold, too.
That’s why we recommend “circulation-boosting exercises.” Improving blood flow throughout the body will naturally warm you up.
The exercises introduced here can be done while seated, so they’re suitable for wheelchair users as well.
Be sure to stay moderately hydrated and only push yourself within a pain-free range.
November song exercise
When it gets cold, our bodies tend to hunch up and naturally become stiff, don’t they? Moving our bodies together through light exercises also leads to better communication.
While sitting in a chair, doing shoulder rolls, clapping hands, and bending and stretching the legs can help relax both mind and body and promote blood circulation.
Moving slowly to a song also lets you feel the joy of physical activity.
Incorporating these into recreation or exercise time is recommended, as it can help prevent falls as well.
[November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults (11–20)
All-You-Can-Pack Sushi Game
Let us introduce a recreation activity with a sushi theme that seniors love: the “All-You-Can-Pack Sushi Game”! Since November 1 is Sushi Day, it’s perfect for November activities.
Prepare plenty of sushi models and place them in the center of the table.
Players sit facing each other for a one-on-one match and use chopsticks to transfer as many pieces of sushi as possible onto their own paper plate.
Don’t forget to wrap vinyl tape around the tips of the chopsticks to make them less slippery! It also serves as good hand dexterity training for seniors, so feel free to use this idea for home or senior care facility activities.
scratch art
Scratch art is the perfect recreation for fine motor exercise.
Instead of drawing, you scrape along pre-printed lines to complete an illustration.
Since the underlying sketch is already there, anyone can end up with a beautiful result—that’s the charm.
You can easily enjoy the little thrill of success when it turns out well.
When it gets cold, even people who aren’t seniors sometimes find it hard to move their bodies, right? But with scratch art, you only use your hands! That small amount of movement is more than enough to have fun.
It’s also sold online, so be sure to check it out.
Buddy Counting Game
For seniors, it’s a “count-the-group game” that also works as brain training.
The rules are simple: draw lots of two kinds of foods on the same page, then quickly answer the question, “How many ○○ are there?” For example, draw mushrooms and Pacific saury—then ask, “How many mushrooms are there?” It’s easy when the numbers are small, but as they increase you’ll catch yourself thinking, “Did I count that one?” and starting over—so it gets tricky.
There are many video problem sets uploaded for this game, so you can project them on a screen and start playing right away without making your own!
calligraphy
November is the height of autumn.
Speaking of autumn, it’s long been called the “season of the arts.” While we’d love to do something artistic in autumn, going out or preparing special tools can be a hassle.
That’s why I recommend calligraphy! Since many of us tried it several times in elementary school, it’s something you can take on without feeling pressured.
How about choosing some autumn-themed words and enjoying writing lots of them?