7 Signs It Might Be Time to Consider a Senior Living Community

April 10, 2019
| Vitality Living

When it comes to healthy aging, quite honestly, there’s a lot to do. You’re supposed to make sure to keep your body active and your brain engaged all while maintaining your social connections as well. Sure, the benefits to your overall well-being are worth the effort, but retirement is supposed to be a time with less responsibility on your plate, right? Well, it turns out that in senior living you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. Here’s how programs like our Vivid Life make keeping active, engaged, and connected easy and fun!

Benefits of Healthy Aging

Good things happen when you focus on healthy aging. In addition to feeling better overall, which in and of itself is a win, other benefits of keeping active, engaged, and connected include:

Improved ability to do everyday things
Reduced impact of illness and chronic disease
Enhanced mobility, flexibility, and balance
Improved sleep
Increased energy level
Reduced feelings of depression and stress
Increased feelings of happiness and self-confidence
Reduced risk of cognitive decline
Increased mental adaptability and cognitive reserve
Improved memory recall and problem-solving skills
Improved concentration and attention to detail

How Senior Living Can Help

At home, particularly when living alone, it can be hard to stay as active, engaged, and connected as you’d like. From lack of opportunity to lack of motivation to lack of transportation to mobility challenges, and more, it’s tough, we get it! That’s why we created the Vivid Life program in our senior living communities. It’s composed of three parts: Vibrant Body, Vibrant Brain, and Vibrant Connections. Here’s what each entails:

Vibrant Body – We offer amenities such as a state-of-the-art fitness center, a pool, walking trails, gardening opportunities, and even a dog park to help you stay active. A sample of activities includes:

Walking club – Daily walks at different outdoor locations using pedometers to measure steps.
Yoga – At least once per week for gentle yoga, and once per week for mindful breathing.
Fitness classes – At least two times per week using a variety of hand weights, resistance bands, and circuit-type exercises.
Tai Chi – At least once per week with a live instructor.
Non-traditional exercise – Dancing, gardening, etc. at least two times per week.
Physical games and sports – Golf, putting, bowling, croquet, bocce, and ping pong available daily with organized events one to two times per week.

Vibrant Brain – We offer monthly calendars filled with classes, events, creative arts, and enrichment opportunities to help keep you engaged. A sample of activities includes:

Visiting lecture series – Twice per month with topics such as cultural, historical, local interest, career-oriented, etc.
Creative art series – At least one per week with a theme that runs 3-6 weeks, such as poetry writing, storytelling, painting, digital photography, etc.
Learning series – At least three times per month with an emphasis on learning something new such as foreign language, sign language, technology, hobbies, etc.
Games – At least one time per week and may include poker, bridge, Scrabble, etc.
Mindfulness – A meditation class once per week and gratitude discussion group twice monthly.
Church service – At least once a week through visits by local churches.
Stress reduction – At least once per month class that offers deep breathing exercises, nature walks, music appreciation, spa-type treatments, etc.

Vibrant Connections – We offer resident-led clubs, social events, outings and volunteer opportunities for any interest to help you stay connected. A sample of activities includes:

Outings – At least twice per month and may include going to concerts, art shows, museum visits, theatre productions, etc.
Intergenerational programming – At least once per month and focuses on building relationships between young adults/children and residents.
New resident welcome party – At least once per month to formally introduce all new residents, and includes ice breakers, social games, etc. to encourage connection.
Philanthropic program – At least once per month provide residents the opportunity to give back to the community, such as volunteering for a local food bank or pet shelter.
Resident-led clubs – May include game clubs, professional clubs, common interests, etc. that meet at least monthly.

What’s more, it’s all right outside your door (or transportation is provided offsite) and all in a supportive environment with home maintenance, housekeeping, and restaurant-style dining freeing your time to make it even easier to stay active, engaged, and connected.

Learn more about Vitality Living’s Vivid Life programs. Or find a Vitality Living community near you today to schedule a tour.

Where you live after retirement can greatly impact your health and happiness. Experts say this is the result of a variety of factors ranging from opportunities for socializing to consuming a healthy diet. If you are a senior wondering if it’s time to move to an independent living or assisted living community, we have a quick checklist that might help you arrive at an answer.

7 Signs You Might Benefit From a Senior Living Community

Challenges of home maintenance: Keeping a home in good repair is a lot of work at any age. From routine maintenance to major repairs like a new furnace or roof, these tasks can be daunting. Added to that are household chores, such as cleaning the carpet and washing the drapes. Take an objective look around your home to see how well you are managing. It might help to make a list of repairs that need to be done. Also, consider how safe you feel completing certain tasks, such as cleaning the gutters and shoveling the snow. From housekeeping to maintenance, independent and assisted living communities handle all of these details for you.
Unintended weight gain or loss: Healthy cooking for one or two often becomes less appealing as you grow older. What may have been an enjoyable activity when you were younger, now feels like drudgery. Some seniors begin relying on convenience foods instead of home-cooked meals. Others may skip meals. The result can be unintentional weight gain or weight loss. Both of these have negative health consequences, such as developing type 2 diabetes type II or osteoporosis. Assisted living communities include well-balanced meals in the monthly fee. Independent living communities include meals in monthly fees or as an add-on service.
Change in disposition: When you are struggling to keep up with things that used to be second nature, it can lead to a change in disposition. For example, if you are having difficulty unloading groceries from the car and getting them inside, it may leave you feeling short-tempered. Moving to a senior living community will free you from burdens like these.
Being a victim of fraud: Falling victim to a scam is often a warning sign that an older adult might need to make a move. From roofing scams to dressing as a home utility worker to gain access to the home, criminals view seniors as an easy target. Living in a senior community can protect you from many of these types of scams.
Feeling lonely and isolated: While most people know that mental health can suffer when a senior is lonely, research shows there is much more to it. Isolation is now considered to be a health risk for older adults. It contributes to a variety of medical conditions, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even early mortality. By moving to an independent or assisted living community, you have daily opportunities to socialize with peers.
Change in appearance: An older adult may be struggling to keep up with personal care. When you spend most of your time at home alone, showering and personal grooming might seem like too much work. It may also be fear that keeps an older person from showering. Many homes have bathrooms that aren’t senior friendly. Falls getting into and out of the bathtub are a legitimate concern for older adults. By contrast, senior living communities are designed with safety in mind including barrier-free showers.
Problems with balance: As we grow older, it is common to experience problems with balance. Sometimes these challenges are short-term, such as a side effect of a medication. Other times the condition is linked to a chronic health condition. If you are a little unsteady on your feet, an older home might not be the most supportive environment. An environment that is supportive, however, is an independent or assisted living community. From hand rails to grab bars, senior communities are designed to make life safer for unsteady seniors.

Tour Vitality Senior Living

If more than a few of the scenarios outlined above sound familiar, it may be time to consider touring a senior living community. We invite you to consider a Vitality Senior Living community when you do. Contact us today to schedule a time!

For more information on our senior living communities, contact us or schedule a tour of a community near you today!

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