[For Seniors] Recreational Activities at Special Nursing Homes That Everyone Can Join
In special nursing homes for the elderly, recreational activities are held frequently.
Among residents with a wide range of physical conditions living together, some staff members may be wondering, “Is there a recreation activity that everyone can enjoy?”
In this article, we introduce recreational activities that people with varying physical conditions can enjoy.
Recreation is important not only for maintaining motor functions and cognitive abilities, but also for deepening interaction with others.
We cover a wide range—from brain-training activities to those that involve physical movement.
Please use this as a reference!
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Recommended! Seasonal Recreational Activities
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Recommended Even for People with Dementia! Simple Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Easy to try. Fun, crowd-pleasing recreation
- Recommended recreational activities for older adults with dementia
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities in Nursing Homes
- Games and recreational activities enjoyable in a wheelchair
- Recreation Activities Effective for Long-Term Care Prevention for Seniors
- Explaining interesting initiatives at nursing care facilities! We also introduce seasonal recreational activities.
- [October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities at Special Nursing Homes That Everyone Can Join (1–10)
foot bath
Foot baths are really good for your body.
Soaking your feet in warm water and then massaging the soles and the tops of your feet improves circulation and can make you feel revitalized.
Adding bath salts, regular salt, or baking soda helps you warm up, too.
Even people who don’t want to take a full bath or find it a hassle might be willing to try just a foot bath, so please give it a try.
It also helps at the first signs of a cold.
Make sure the water doesn’t get lukewarm—add hot water as needed to keep it warm while you soak.
A stroll activity to the nearby park
When the weather turns warm and mild, I highly recommend a stroll activity.
In fact, going for a walk is packed with benefits! Exposure to sunlight helps your body produce vitamin D, which strengthens bones.
Planning a date and destination for an outing engages orientation skills—the ability to understand your situation—while getting ready to go out and following a route use executive functions, the abilities needed to achieve goals.
If you’re walking, you can also expect various effects such as maintaining muscle strength and improving circulation.
Even in a wheelchair, spending the day differently than usual can refresh both body and mind, so please give it a try.
Music Therapy Handbell Concert
Let me introduce music therapy using handbells.
In handbell ensembles, each person is responsible for specific notes on the scale, which actually requires a lot of concentration.
Even with familiar children’s songs, you need to remember exactly when to play your note.
The timing is important, and you also have to adjust the volume with your arm movements.
Because this sends a lot of stimulation to the brain, it can be expected to have brain-training effects.
In addition, since it is often done in groups, it naturally fosters interaction among participants, and the sense of accomplishment when it all comes together is exceptional.
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities at Special Nursing Homes That Everyone Can Join (11–20)
Recreation using newspapers
Here’s an easy-to-prepare idea for “newspaper-based recreation.” Many special nursing homes have newspapers on hand, right? With a bit of creativity, you can use newspapers for enjoyable activities that may also help with brain training and dementia prevention.
Try tearing newspapers into long strips or turning flyers into puzzles.
These can promote finger dexterity and help train concentration and the right hemisphere of the brain.
Plus, newspaper ring toss can serve as an upper-body exercise when throwing and can encourage interaction with others.
You can even make it a team competition for added fun—there are many ways to use newspaper-based recreation.
balloon volleyball
Let’s try balloon volleyball that you can enjoy while remaining seated, moving your upper body as much as you like! Balloons are light and floaty, so there’s little risk of injury, making this a great activity for everyone from children to seniors.
Have participants sit in a circle and tap the balloon with their hands to enjoy rallies, or if there are many people, sit facing each other, split into teams, and play matches.
It gets very lively with staff members calling out cheers, and adding noisemakers can make it even more exciting.
As a variation, it’s also fun to use paper fans to hit the balloon back.
Number Cop
The “Number Cups” game is played by matching the numbers written on paper cups with the numbers written on paper.
Memorizing the numbers serves as brain training, and picking up and placing the cups can help train the arms and hands.
You can enjoy it alone, but turning it into a head-to-head match would make it even more exciting.
It’s a simple game, and that’s exactly the point.
To make brain training more effective, it’s said that “continuing regularly” is important.
Plus, when it’s fun, it motivates you to think, “Next, I want to try that too.” Please give the Number Cups activity we introduced here a try.
Gesture Game
It’s a “gesture game” where participants use body movements to give answers.
Because players infer answers from limited clues—like silent motions without sounds or speech—gesture games can be expected to have brain-training benefits.
Moreover, performing and observing movements that lead to the answer can help refresh both body and mind.
If it’s difficult for older adults to move their bodies, try preparing prompts that can be acted out while seated, such as in a chair.
The silence of the movements can feel humorous, and there are plenty of elements that liven things up, like figuring out the answer from the actions.
Please feel free to use this as a reference.