[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 Seniors (41–50)
Gum-Gum Kick Bowling
It’s a game where a newspaper ball is connected to your foot with a rubber band, and you try to kick it to knock down milk-carton pins in front of you.
It tests fine control of your foot—like whether you can bring the ball into a good kicking position and transfer your kicking power effectively.
You can also see individual styles: will you focus on a single, concentrated kick to topple as many pins as possible, or prioritize speed by kicking repeatedly? You can adjust the difficulty by changing the length of the rubber band or the size of the ball, so let’s have people try it in various configurations.
Valentine Game
Place colorful cans on a base framed by a heart—a classic Valentine’s motif—and have the person on the opposite side pull a string to reel the base toward themselves.
It’s a trust-based game that tests how many cans you can stack and whether you can bring them over without dropping them.
There are also steps and bumps along the pulling path, so pay attention to how you arrange the cans to keep them from falling when going over obstacles.
Balance in placing the cans and control of force while pulling may be the key elements.
Brain training erasing letters on a whiteboard
It’s a game where the 50 Japanese syllables are written on a whiteboard, and you make words using those characters.
Each character you use is erased from the board, and the goal is to create as many words as possible.
The key point is that you can’t use the same character again, so be mindful of which characters you should leave for later as you play.
If you start without thinking, you’ll tend to use the easy characters early on, so it’s recommended to deliberately come up with words that use the more difficult characters first.
Rather than just going with whatever words come to mind, it might be better to plan with the endgame in mind as you proceed.
Winter Song Exercises
Sing-along activities are offered in many senior and welfare facilities.
Singing helps relieve stress and, because it moves the mouth, also works as an oral exercise.
Moreover, combining songs with simple exercises—song-exercise routines—stimulates the cerebrum, activates the brain, and can help prevent dementia.
If the exercises use songs people like, even seniors who feel reluctant to move might think, “Maybe I’ll give it a try.” Seasonal songs, such as winter-themed ones, can also help seniors feel the season as they exercise.
Brain training that sharpens your reflexes
It’s a game that trains your reflexes by imitating claps so that your timing matches the model person’s clapping as closely as possible.
While getting a firm grasp of the clapping rhythm is key to enjoying the game, focusing too much on the rhythm can make you fall for tricks.
The sequence of observing the model’s hands and reflecting that in your own movements tests both your concentration and reflexes.
Adding changes in rhythm or variations in clapping midway through is also recommended, as it further directs your attention to the model’s hands.
Autumn Song Calisthenics
Autumn is the season when it starts to feel chilly, isn’t it? It’s also a time when older adults may feel reluctant to move their bodies.
So how about trying a singing exercise with an autumn theme? If it’s a seated singing exercise, even seniors who find standing difficult can participate.
Autumn songs include pieces like “Tsuki” (The Moon) and “Donguri Korokoro” (Acorns Rolling).
By singing them during exercise, older adults can also get a sense of the season’s atmosphere.
In addition, exercising while singing can help activate the brain and relieve stress.
If you’d like, please use this as a reference and give it a try.
Paper Cup Pulling Game
It’s a reflex-testing game where you hold a string with a paper cup attached and, the instant the music stops, quickly pull the paper cup toward yourself.
There’s someone positioned near the paper cup to hold it down—try to move the cup faster than they can react.
Since you need to transfer the force from the string to the cup to reel it in, how you hold the string and how you pull it are key points.
You might also have fun making it a competitive format where players take turns being the holder and the puller.