We all like to keep occupied and our minds active and this is certainly no different when it comes to life in a care home environment. Although round the clock care support may be required, a care home is still home to the residents who live there. We like to see it this way rather than a working or strictly 'care' environment.
Ranging from things such as bingo or arts and crafts to gardening and or trips out, there is a wide range of activities that our residents enjoy and form a large part of their day-to-day lives. Prioritising these is extremely important because if you could imagine how life at home would be without your hobbies or pastimes, you can imagine how dull that would be!
Keeping The Brain Active
There are a tremendous number of benefits when it comes to how activities keep the brain active. We all agree that things such as crosswords, word games and puzzles are good for our grey matter, but creative and social activities also help stimulate the brain.
Residents enjoy a range of activities and these are always led by the things that they suggest, we know they enjoy or they would like to go and visit.
In addition to this, we know that things such as music and reminiscence can make a big difference when it comes to diseases such as dementia.
Building Good Relationships
Maintaining a level of social interaction is vital for our general wellbeing and a care home environment is often made up of a mixture of different individuals from different walks of life.
Activities help to create an opportunity for residents to forge good relationships with both each other and the staff supporting them. This social interaction is also beneficial to the care support that residents receive.
Generally Having Fun
As well as keeping the brain active and forging good relationships, activities should also be an opportunity to generally have fun.
Whether this is through painting, card games, or anything else, each individual resident should be encouraged and supported to do the things that they enjoy!
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