Your retirement is probably the most important time of your life. It’s a chance for you to look back on your life, and see what’s really made you who you are today. With that in mind, you suddenly find yourself with a lot of extra time, and now you need activities to fill up the recently freed up schedule. You probably already know what you enjoy doing, and have some hobbies in mind, but do you think you might be interested in something new? If that’s the case, continue reading, and you might just find your next big hobby.
Why a Retiree Should Garden
Gardening is an excellent choice for light exercise, artistic expression, and scientific exploration, as well as being a great way to engage both hemispheres of your brain. It relaxes the mind and puts it into a meditative task, as it requires a lot of focus and care. You’ll even find yourself preventing, or perhaps curbing, some degenerative diseases thanks to the fact that you’ll be using all of your motor skills. On top of all this you’ll have the chance to make some beautiful creations, and you could even possibly produce your of fruits and vegetables for harvesting.
For those with more limited motor functions, there’s always windowsill gardening. It’s a fantastic way to liven up your home, and it’s less stress than traditional gardening. There are many forms this type can take, from bonsai trees, to clay pots, to hanging plants. Gardening is an extremely approachable hobby.
Why a Retiree Should do Scrapbooking
A tradition sprung up from Britain in the late 1700’s, scrapbooking is a fun and easy way to make a catalogue of family memories. It the art of preservation, arranging and presenting. The best part of it is that there’s no right or wrong way to scrapbooking. It is purely an outlet for your own creative flow. It allows you to visit your memories and put your own personal spin on them for everyone to see. It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, and the only thing that matters is how you want to express that story. Below are some tips to help you start:
- Pick a theme: This can be anything you want. You could make an anniversary book, or a baby book, or you might even make one for your pets!
- Use other media: You can put more in there than just pictures. You can always incorporate letters, drawings, postcards, awards, anything! The only limit you have is the one you put on your imagination.
- Involve your family and friends: Yes it’s your story, but they had a part in it too! Scrapbooking allows you more chances to socialize with your loved ones.
How Yoga can help Retirees
With its roots in Hinduism, yoga is a physical and spiritual practice. The intention is for it to bring unity for your mind and body. Though many exercise programs actually utilize some form of yoga, simply looking at it can make you feel a little intimidated. However, you’re likely to find specialized classes that help seniors learn to stretch and relax. Really, helping you become calm and relaxed is one of the main goals of yoga. Some classes have even integrated chairs into yoga routines, allowing for those with more limited motor functions to participate.
There are also the obvious physical benefits as well. A more obvious benefit is the help with flexibility, which is especially important for those who suffer from degenerative diseases such as arthritis. If you’ve had anything similar to valve or heart surgery, or simply need to reduce the following, then you’ll find relief in how yoga reduces both your stress and your blood pressure. Regular practice is likely to help your overall well being, and it’s a great chance to have some fun and bond with others.
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Trivia Nights for Retirees
Trivia night may not sound all that exciting at first, as it’s often the butt of a joke in many movies, but it’s been growing in popularity in bars throughout the nation. Our brains are constantly demanding to be stimulated, no matter how old we get. A constantly stimulated mind is key to maintaining healthy brain function in the later years, and trivia is always a good way to challenge yourself and keep your mind sharp. Unlike other forms of brain stimulation, trivia often pushes you to focus on topics that may not always come up in regular discussion, forcing your brain to problem solve on the spot. You can also get a little creative in how you perform and compete on trivia nights. For those who lose planning you’ll have a ton of fun planning the theme of trivia night, and finding interesting questions to match it. Get others involved in the process!
Why Senior Citizens Should do Traditional Art
You’ll find your retirement is a perfect time to pick an activity to do from the many types of art that are available. There’s acrylic, watercolor, oil, pastel, charcoal, ink, graphite, or for the really adventurous, mixed media. You’ll be keeping your mind stimulated with art as well, though in a more abstract way. Abstract thoughts will allow you to think about and engage in new subjects, or to explore ones you’re familiar with but by using a different perspective.
If you don’t have much experience in traditional medias, then consider taking a course. There is a plethora of courses offered everywhere, including private tutoring or college courses. If you’re looking to save a little money then you can hop online and look up tutorials and videos on how to perform your particular medium, and you’ll find anything from the basics to complex techniques.
Why Senior Citizens Should pick up Photography
You can also consider the art of photography, which will allow you to both express your creative side, and to make a picture record of the world as you’ve come to view it. It allows you to go out while providing plenty of stress relief. Since it’s so portable you should remember to bring your camera with you on the next trip downtown or hike! It also helps improve memory, since it literally involves documenting what you see.
You can use photography for many things. You can use it alongside other creative projects, such as mixed medias and scrapbooking, as well as to keep your family members in the loop as to how you’re doing, and what you’ve been up to. If nothing else, it’s a wonderful way to open up to others and socialize over your photos!
Should Senior Citizens do Volunteer Work?
Sometimes we all need a bigger calling in life, and volunteering is the perfect excuse to answer that call. Many organizations are happy to have anyone and everyone come to their aid. Here are just a couple of organizations to consider:
- Humane Society/ASPCA: Due to minimal funds, most animal shelters are understaffed. As a volunteer, you can help out in many ways, including socializing with the animals.
- Childrens Hospitals: With so much going on, these places often need extra help to monitor playrooms, help tutor kids, and simply to have people visit with them, play games with them, and tell stories to them.
- Veteran Affairs Volunteer Service (VAVS): This program supports veterans that may be injured from combat, or even provide care to homeless veterans trying to readjust and rebuild.
There are many more organizations that will be happy to have retirees come in. It’s simply a matter of locating one that fits well with you.
Should Senior Citizens take Cooking Classes?
Cooking is also an art, and a rewarding one. Why not take some cooking classes so that you can replicate the delicious looking dishes from the Food Network, from the crazy and exotic ones to the familiar and even childish ones.
Cooking has other benefits as well. It requires focus and precision, which is healthy for your brain development. Depending on what you make it may even allow you to live a healthier lifestyle. Cooking is fun for all ages, so get together with friends or family and learn the finer points of cooking!
Doing Creative Writing After Retirement
Those wanting to be writers haven’t ever had it this good before. The tools available to get the words from your head to the pages are numerous. If you’re looking for a community then you can find it online, where many forums provide help between writers, including writing prompts and exercises. You’ll find both your creativity and self-discipline are used in writing.
Writing can be done in almost any place, and that’s one of the greatest things about it. You can take a notebook with you on your journeys, keep a journal beside your bed, or simply get on your computer at home and let the words flow. There are so many stories swirling around in your head, so why not try putting them down on paper? Words have an interesting tendency to bring out the more interesting parts of what’s going on upstairs, and they are uniquely yours to share.
How Water Activities help After Retirement
Swimming is very beneficial to pretty much everyone, as the environment involves low intensity and low impact exercise that works all of the muscles in your body. Not only are you strengthening your muscles through exercise, but the gentleness of it allows your muscle tissue and to become more elastic and flexible.
If you don’t want to swim then you might consider joining one of the many types of water aerobics classes available, including:
- Water Jogging: This low-impact exercise will get your heart pumping and blood flowing. Water jogging can be as simple as jogging through the water from one side of the pool to the other.
- Flutter Kicking: Able to be done with or without a kickboard, you’ll be kicking your way from one end of the pool to the other.
- Standing Push-ups: For this activity you’ll stand at the edge of the pool and place your hands on the the edge or gutter, about shoulder width apart, then bend into it, similar to traditional push-ups..
- Water Weight Training: With the use of foam weights, there are numerous exercises you can do without the risk of injury.
The Benefits of Dancing for Senior Citizens
You might consider dancing. You’ll be completely engaged because it’s a mixture of exercise and art. Of course, it has may benefits to it.
It can reduce depression, anxiety, stress and even insomnia. Studies comparing seniors that took dance classes with seniors who didn’t saw a significant decrease in negative emotional responses, as well as increased productivity and stamina. Those who have parkinson’s disease, asthma, heart disease, and arthritis also saw a decrease in symptoms when they attended some classes.
Reflect on Yourself
Retirement is far more than the end of your life. It’s the time where you can spend the rest of your life really connecting with yourself, learning about the things that bring you true joy. The above mentioned activities are just a couple of ideas to explore as you go on the greatest journey of your life, absolutely nothing is stopping you from doing something that is uniquely you. Find what makes you happy, and make it your own.
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