Leisure time
Even for older people, active leisure time is very important. Sometimes even a joke how true that seniors cannot get the time. Being active is very important for an elderly person, it helps with social exclusion, isolation and enhancing physical and mental abilities.
What to do when we get old?
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Taking hobbies; it helps to strengthen and maintain physical and mental abilities, whether it will be working in the garden, visiting cultural or sporting events, recreational activities, cooking or reading;
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Study workshops; are a form of non-formal learning, in Slovenia we know the University for the Third Life Period, for example, or learning a foreign language, learn computer skills etc.;
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Traveling; learn about foreign cultures, customs, habits, or discover the hidden corners of our country.
Why are leisure activities for the elderly so important?
For the elderly is very important to stay physically active as long as possible. If you are perhaps unsure of your physical abbilities, you can be active by taking a walk, which is completely natural and safe recreation. There is no need for expensive equipment or special facilities, all you need is time and the will to take this steps. Regular walking improves both mental and physical health because it strengthens every muscle in the body, while knees are not pressured. In addition, the body after thirty minutes of walking begins to excrete serotonin, the hormone of happiness, and endorphins, thus largely contributing to well-being, while it also has beneficial effect on sleep.
In addition, physical activity is also important for the elderly mental activity. We can do a lot. One of the activities in which older people maintain memory skills, is solving puzzles or crossword puzzles. You can read a book, magazine, daily newspapers.
There are also many activities, which can be done together, old and young generations, because one can learn a lot from each other.
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They can go on any day excursion together while both generations can share experiences. Young people can share what they learned about this place in the school, while the older person may have memory or experience from this place.
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Computers; young can teach the older how to use internet, email or facebook, which is completely unknown for them, there are not so few elderly who would find these modern technology interesting. This is also an ideal opportunity for the young to strengthen their sense of solidarity with the elderly.
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They can also be creative together; older person could teach young individual how to create a product, as they did in their youth.
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Music often brings people together and is common point for both generations. Older people certainly have many songs in their collections that were sung in their youth and that is an excellent opportunity for socializing with young people to preserve folk songs and traditions.