With the number of ageing adults increasing in Singapore, the need to establish more health and wellness programs for them arises.
The ageing process is something inevitable and challenging. You will go through a lot of physical and mental changes that often require major lifestyle changes to keep yourself healthy and strong. It is no surprise that our health deteriorates as we age, no matter how much we don't want it to. There's really no way around it but the best thing we could do is to make the best out of the situation. To experience healthy ageing, we must learn how to stay active.
In Singapore, many active ageing programmes were established to provide support to the senior community. The goal is to improve the quality of life of the elderly and a major aspect of that is helping them receive integrated care and achieve good health.
Active ageing is defined as a process where people develop and maintain the proper functional ability for the sake of their well-being. This is meant to promote being active, healthy, independent, and ageing well. All of these factors help seniors improve their quality of life.
This is why many countries around the globe are implementing social activities that will significantly uplift healthy living among aging adults.
Getting old is often perceived as a negative thing. This is probably due to reasons such as the body weakening, developing diseases, and basically being unable to do the things you used to do when you were a much younger, healthier version of yourself. With those things in mind, seniors often feel inadequate, demotivated, or worse—depressed. Facing the reality is not always easy to do.
This is exactly why active ageing is important. This will help seniors learn how to prepare for the upcoming changes in their life. These will serve as lifestyle choices that will significantly impact their physical, mental, and even spiritual health. If they get to participate in activities and become socially engaged, they're taking huge steps toward living a much healthier, happier life.
Ageing will become something they love instead of what they loathe.
There are many advantages when it comes to joining active ageing programmes and social activities. Instead of letting your elderly loved ones succumb to the negative sides of growing old, allow them instead to fully enjoy life even as they are in their golden years. This opens doors to plenty of opportunities where they can still grow and innovate as human beings.
Here are the key benefits:
Seniors must engage in physical activities or exercises to get their bodies moving. By staying physically active, they can improve their strength, stamina, coordination, and balance. This is especially important since the elderly are more prone to losing their balance or falling. Through the means of reasonable exercise and other activities centered on their physique, they have more freedom to move around. This will not only uplift their bodies but also their minds and souls. They will learn to be more independent and will thus require less assistance. They will not easily weaken and have better armor against illnesses and forms of physical pain or discomforts.
The programmes also intend to help seniors practice better lifestyle choices and this includes what they consume. It's hard to avoid delicious food or tempting drinks, but a lot of these are reasons why we develop certain medical conditions in the first place. Here, the elderly will be guided along to maintaining a healthy and balanced diet that will enable their bodies to be filled with nutrition. Exercise and staying active are important, but a healthy diet also plays a major role in helping them live healthily.
Engaging in active ageing programmes and exercise sessions will certainly improve one's body AND mind. Mental health is as equally important as physical one. By exercising regularly, you can reduce stress and anxiety and improve your cognitive abilities. Some seniors experience memory or cognitive impairment, such as dementia and hearing loss. If they participate in recreational activities that will exercise the mind, they can boost their ability to focus and concentrate and it will also lessen the risk of developing memory problems. Memory care is also essential to provide every kind of support to people with this kind of condition.
Just to be clear, exercise sessions and other active ageing programmes will not guarantee a hundred percent immunity from diseases or health deterioration. It's just natural for seniors to feel weaker or more frail compared to their previous years. There's really no way to avoid it. However, by being active and healthy, you can make yourself stronger to fight diseases and be more resilient when it comes to certain medical issues. Healthy ageing will allow seniors to improve their overall quality of life and enjoy it.
Many senior living homes in Singapore offer various active ageing programmes for seniors. Among them is Red Crowns which prioritize quality personal care and healthcare services for the silver community.
Seniors need to feel a sense of belongingness. Having people around them who are going through the same journey or having similar experiences with them motivates them to be active. Through social activities, they can make new friends and connect with other people. Here, they can join many community-based things like intergenerational activities, community dining, and volunteering opportunities. Plenty of studies already proved how social engagement positively impacts the lives of seniors, especially their mental health.
In Red Crowns, they offer activities for senior groups such as group tours and mah-jong tournaments for both learning and entertainment.
Many seniors practice healthy ageing by joining exercises and other forms of physical workouts. From stretching exercises to Zumba and Tai Chi, seniors can experience fun activities that will improve their physique. What makes these even greater is that they can do it with other seniors. Exercising with others gives you more motivation compared to doing it alone. These workouts only have moderate intensity, carefully built for seniors who have limited physical abilities but good enough to keep them active.
As they age, seniors tend to get bored, especially if they're retirees and were used to having jobs. Now that they have more free time, they can participate in learning activities that will also affect their health. Healthy cooking classes are the way to go because this way, they can learn new skills and know how to prepare healthy and nutritious meals for themselves. This will make them feel accomplished and enable them to have control over what goes into their mouths and stomachs.
It is also incredibly essential for seniors to indulge themselves in health education. It's good that they exercise and join activities, but they must also keep themselves informed about how they can continue to live an active, healthy life. Health workshops, screenings, and seminars enable them to have a better understanding of their health, thus, teaching them to make wiser decisions about it. Whether it's what food they should it, what habits they should develop, up to the kind of medications and treatments that they should take—this will make them more health-conscious and aware. Remember, ignorance is not bliss.
We all have to remember that not all seniors have the same situations and circumstances. Not everybody can be up and about; some of them have limited mobility or are only able to receive proper healthcare by being in one place. While some seniors would find active ageing best in community-based activities and events, some seniors prefer to better their quality of life within their homes. This is why senior home care is made available. Both sides are equally important, so as long the seniors are living the kind of life that they deserve and are making the right lifestyle choices.
If you want to know more about active ageing and the activities revolving around it, you can consult us here at Red Crowns Senior Living. Here's to ageing well!
