A Lifestyle Checklist to Compare Home Versus Senior Living

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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. 

blog-family-decision-guide

 

When most people think of senior living, they don’t imagine an active and engaging retirement lifestyle; this is just one of the reasons why retirees assume – incorrectly – there’s no comparison between home versus senior living. There’s actually much more to senior living than you may realize, and it just might be a better fit for the retirement you’ve always wanted than home. Take our lifestyle assessment to truly compare home versus senior living.

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Looking at Your Lifestyle at Home

Home is where you’re most comfortable and likely where you’ve always pictured you’d spend your retirement years. Why mess with a good thing, right? At the same time, realistically assessing your needs and wants at this point in your life may help you to find opportunities to get even more out of retirement. Consider this checklist:

YesNo
Would it be helpful to have assistance in the household with these areas?
Meal preparation
Housecleaning
Laundry/linens
Yardwork
Home maintenance
Transportation
Would it be helpful to have assistance in these personal care areas?
Bathing/showering
Daily grooming
Dressing
Medication reminders
Medication administration
Would you like to have more time and/or access to these activities?
Spending time with friends
Spending time with family
Attending religious services
Participating in your favorite hobbies
Shopping and dining out
Attending cultural events
Artistic pursuits
Lifelong learning
Volunteering
Fitness classes, swimming pool, and/or a gym
Spending time outdoors

Comparing Home versus Senior Living

If you answered ‘yes’ to at least a few of the questions above, senior living may be just what you didn’t realize you were looking for! Senior living communities today feature a maintenance-free lifestyle with yard work, housekeeping, meals, and transportation taken care of for you, so you have the time and freedom to enjoy retirement to its fullest.

Senior living communities like ours offer amenities such as dining venues that may include a bistro, pub, and restaurant, concierge services, library, dog park, and walking trails on beautiful grounds. Not to mention, we offer an ever-changing monthly calendar filled with social activities, outings, classes, clubs, and volunteer opportunities.

Importantly, our communities also focus on healthy aging with wellness services, a state-of-the-art fitness center, yoga and Tai Chi classes, onsite spa and salon experiences, as well as even chef-created menus that use fresh, locally-grown ingredients for meals that are nutritious and delicious!

Check out our Active Adult Decision Guide to learn more. Or, contact us today to schedule your virtual tour!

 

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