It is common for us to associate play with children. Unfortunately, this way of thinking is missing the point. Play is critical for all age groups. It is through play that we learn, keep our brains functional and get many social benefits when we interact with other people. When it comes to your loved ones, play is even more critical as it has unique benefits that will be helpful for your loved one in an assisted living facility in Suwanee, GA. Here is what you need to know about this.
Understanding Play
Play can take many different forms and doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical activity. For example, a game of chess is play although the level of physical activity required may be limited. Perhaps the one thing that is true about all forms of play is that they should be fun for the participants. This is the reason why it is important to find a play activity for your loved one that they will enjoy. It’s also important to ensure that regardless of what they do, it is an activity that they can do safely. For example, family members with balance issues should be careful when participating in play where there is risk of falls.
Benefits of Play
There are a number of benefits to be derived from play. We are going to take you through a couple of them.
Lowers Stress
We mentioned that play should be fun for the participants. This is not just to ensure that they have lots of fun, rather it also helps with stress relief. Play does it in two ways. The first is that the social component of it including the fun tims all help to lift the mood of your loved one and this way, there is little opportunity for stress. For family members who participate in more physical forms of play, an additional benefit is that physical activities cause the body to release feel-good hormones which in turn lower stress levels. This is why joggers and runners talk of a ‘high’ when they are in the middle of their favorite activity.
Improves Brain Functions
constantly putting your brain to the test is good for your brain function. As the years pass by, your family members may find themselves struggling with memory loss conditions such as dementia. Play, especially activities that stimulate the mind, can help your loved one improve their brain functions. Games such as chess help to keep the brain stimulated and this in turn helps to slow down memory loss conditions. The social aspect of play, such as meeting with friends to play a round of golf or chess also helps to reduce stress and this has an overall effect of improving brain health.
New Horizons
With pla, new opportunities are open for your loved one. In our earlier example, taking up golf for example and lead to your loved one participating in competitions, especially if they prove adept at it. This means meeting new people, having new adventures and generally having an interesting life.
Better Physical Health
With play comes better physical health. Activities such as swimming, golf and others help to improve balance, coordination and much more. Eventually, this translates to better health outcomes.
