Several forms of entertainment remain attractive in our later years, and there are plenty of options for older adults looking to have fun and perhaps learn new skills during their retirement.
There are several exciting activities that older adults can engage in to have fun and stay fit, like meditation, which provides numerous health benefits. Others may include dancing, workout, games, creative arts, etc.
Art, specifically through therapy, is primarily known to offer a wide variety of advantages to the overall well-being of older adults. From improving their self-esteem to enhancing motor function, there are many ways art therapy can make your loved one’s post-retirement life more fun-filled and enjoyable.
At Seasons Retirement, we encourage our residents to stay fit, happy, and healthy by providing an environment that enables them to engage in productive and healthful activities.
In this article, we will go over the practice of art for seniors and how it could positively impact the physical, mental, and social well-being of your loved one.
Art therapy usually deals with physical and mental stress through the process of understanding, expression, and management of art forms. Although professional art therapists typically oversee this practice, participating in art classes can offer similar therapeutic effects.
Indeed, art practices, such as painting, knitting, and sketching, are among the most exciting hobbies for older adults. Still, research shows that these pastimes can also double as an effective way to improve older adults’ physical and mental well-being.
Art therapy for seniors addresses health issues by using creative expressions, various art forms, and motion to enhance normal body functions.
As mentioned earlier, art therapy can help enhance your older relatives’ physical and mental well-being. However, it’s also worth highlighting the specific advantages of art for seniors to understand the benefits it can bring to any individual properly.
Research studies show that art therapy has a significant impact on the cognitive health of older persons. Given that this creative practice will encourage your loved ones to think freely, their cognitive reasoning is well exercised and remains sharp.
As with acquiring knowledge, knowing how to create art in various forms can improve the cognitive skills of your parents and grandparents. Moreover, learning art as an activity has been suggested to enhance the development of newer neural pathways in the brain.
In essence, this means that the brain’s physical functions continue to develop and remain at a higher level with art therapy.
One of the significant advantages of art for older adults is its boost to their mood. It helps alleviate the feeling of loneliness or anxiety in your loved one.
Scientific research shows that older people who engaged in creative art practices experienced positive emotions and displayed a greater degree of happiness.
Furthermore, engaging in art therapy can help your parents and grandparents relax and have fun, which is excellent for their mood. For instance, painting or drawing objects and images formed in their minds offer an outlet for your loved ones to express how they feel; this will surely help them cope with stress.
With regular practice of art through painting, drawing, or even crafting, older persons get the opportunity to exercise their hands and arms. In the long run, this exercise helps enhance muscle coordination, increase blood circulation, improve agility, and even enhance hand-eye coordination.
Art therapy and art classes are not only for the practice of creative crafts, but they also provide an avenue for your older ones to socialize and interact with other people from various walks of life.
Your parents or grandparents can engage with like-minded individuals and forge new social connections during art therapy sessions. This can help maintain a sense of social inclusion and keep the feeling of loneliness at bay.
As such, engaging in art therapy can help your older loved ones develop productive social interactions and healthy relationships with like-minded people.
For various reasons, some individuals of all ages may find self-expression through verbal means challenging. Luckily, art therapy provides an alternative way for your older loved ones to express how they feel and what they think. Professional art therapists are trained to help people express themselves freely through creative tasks.
Additionally, better self-expression promotes communication in older folks. Since they can express themselves better, communicating with you and other loved ones should be a breeze for your parents and grandparents.
So, art therapy is a great way to start if your loved one wants to improve their communication skills and self-expression.
Senior art therapy is quite effective in managing discomfort in older folks. For instance, older persons dealing with some health issues with painful symptoms can alleviate the pain using art therapy because it allows them to focus only on what they love doing – creating art.
Moreover, art therapy’s soothing and therapeutic benefits can also help individuals avoid focusing on negativity and chronic pain.
There are several excellent ways to improve the memory function of the brain, and art therapy is one of them. For seniors, painting can help your loved ones remember an object or event they’ve seen in the past.
Furthermore, several experimental studies show that practicing creative arts helps alleviate the symptoms of memory loss in older persons. After all, these artistic activities are known to stimulate the brain.
As ordinary as art may seem on the surface, it is very beneficial to the overall well-being of older adults. So, if your loved one is looking for new interests or hobbies, they can try out art for seniors; it will be worth their while.
At Seasons Retirement, we have the resources available for residents to participate in wholesome activities like yoga, meditation, dancing classes, and so on. We encourage discussing the possibility of art therapy with your loved ones as their next adventure, especially with the various benefits we’ve outlined.