How Active Adult Communities Help with Mental and Physical Health

Living in 55+ Apartments Provides Lots of Benefits

Physical and mental health can become challenges when older adults live alone or are required to continue to provide home maintenance. After working all their lives, raising children, or keeping up the home, they definitely deserve to live somewhere where they don’t have to worry about all the “extras.”

Active adult communities are designed specifically with people ages 55 and older in mind, and the results of these thoughtful design decisions help keep residents happy and healthy, both physically and mentally.

Here are five ways these communities manage to help their residents and enrich their lives.

Socialization Helps with Mental Health

A sense of community and group gathering spaces foster independent, organic socialization in 55+ active adult communities, and organized events bring people together to inspire that organic socialization.

Social events put on by the community help residents meet each other and learn more about their neighbors. In turn, they are more likely to interact with each other on their own time and form healthy relationships with people with whom they have things in common.

These friendships provide emotional support and help keep active adults in good mental health. Because they live with their peers who are going through the same life events as they are, seniors can find people to lean on when they face life changes, like giving up their houses, decreasing their driving frequency, and even losing mobility. These supports help them keep in good spirits.

Fitness and Exercise Classes Get Seniors Moving

Idle bodies tend to feel stiff and sore, so it’s important for adults to keep moving to sustain their muscle mass and flexibility. Group exercise classes are popular in active adult communities and are usually scheduled weekly.

Gentle workout options, like chair yoga, stretching, balancing, and tai chi are all wonderful forms of exercises offered in 55+ communities. Of course, more agile residents are free to use the exercise equipment in the fitness center for more intense workouts.

Aside from helping seniors stay fit, opportunities for exercise within the community are ideal because they minimize extraneous travel needs and expenses for local gym memberships.

Activities Keep Minds Active

Leisure time is best spent with friends. The community aspect of a 55+ active adult community includes activities that help residents keep their minds sharp by learning something new, crafting, or playing games.

A healthy, active brain is shown to reduce the severity of chronic health conditions, extend lifespan, and even decrease the risk of developing clinical depression. Like exercise classes, activities are scheduled each week, and residents are invited to participate in the ones that interest them.

Puzzles, bible study, coffee chats, book clubs, virtual bowling, arts and crafts, and other activities abound in these communities. There’s really something for everyone, and all residents are encouraged to try new things. Aside from keeping minds sharp and active, these activities also help enrich the days and pass the time for people of retirement age living in 55 and over apartments.

Help Your Loved One See the Benefits

If you think it’s time for your parent or grandparent to move out of their house and into an active adult living community, know that it must be their decision to do so. There’s no forcing the issue, but you can provide information to help convince them that moving is the right choice.

Share these health benefits, for starters, but you also can point out:

  • They will no longer be responsible for difficult and exhausting yard work and home maintenance. For some seniors, these tasks can be downright dangerous, especially if they live alone.
  • They’ll be responsible for paying fewer bills and taxes. Homeowners pay for every aspect of their home utilities as well as property tax in most states. By renting a 55+ apartment, they’ll minimize their utility bills, cut out the tax bill entirely, and save money on other memberships for services or activities provided in the community.
  • There’s always someone around. Especially if your loved one laments feeling lonely, they know there’s always someone to say hello to or visit with, just around the corner when they live in an active adult community.
  • Without the responsibilities and expenses of homeownership, your loved one can prioritize their time, money, and energy for things they want to do, making their retirement years some of the best, most exciting ones of their life.

 

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