Painting for leisure is proven to have multiple benefits for our health. It is especially helpful for your aging family members, who may be feeling lonely and listless. Painting engages with our creativity and can improve well being of the mind and body. When your loved ones are given the opportunity to try out arts and crafts, they will find that they can gain a lot from the process. Here are some benefits of painting for your older family members’ health.
Mental Health Benefits
Painting can be therapeutic in many ways. For one, your family members can get to paint with others of a similar age group in a social setting to alleviate boredom and loneliness. Furthermore, as they tend to lose friends when they get older, and other family members may be occupied with things like work, such a hobby class can be great for bonding.
The act of painting also helps to calm them down and give them much happiness as they take the time to create the picture. It may reduce anxiety and feelings of purposelessness after they retire. Painting provides a boost in mood and can be healing emotionally. If you think your loved ones may benefit more from social activities with peers, you can also look into senior living communities such as the Discovery Village At Palm Beach Gardens that provides quality care, meals, and amenities.
Cognitive Benefits
Besides the benefits to emotional health, painting is also amazing for improving cognitive functioning. As your loved ones get older, they may find that their cognitive abilities are weakening. However, this can be slowed down when your family members actively engage with their minds. Painting is a skill that involves both the right and left sides of the brain. Some studies even suggest that painting can decrease the likelihood of elders developing memory loss and illnesses like Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
However, if your loved ones already show signs of dementia, it may be better to call for trained professionals to manage their symptoms. If the situation is too complicated to handle on your own, you can consider looking into SHINE® Memory Care that cares for patients with dementia using a nationally recognized approach.
Improvement in Coordination
It is not just the mind and emotional health that can improve from painting. Physical health is also impacted by the act of painting as it includes the movement of the fingers and wrists, as well as hand-eye coordination. If your loved ones have arthritis in the areas mentioned above, they may see improvement in their conditions with more practice. As painting is not a strenuous sport, it is incredibly useful for your aging family members to partake in for the long term. They can get better control of their hands. Painting is also known to improve blood circulation.
It is low-budget and hassle-free, making it a worthy hobby to pursue. It is an activity that transcends age and generations. You can join your loved ones in painting workshops to make it a family activity that strengthens the bonds among different age groups.
