Recent research has demonstrated the cognitive advantages of scrapbooking for elderly individuals. Scrapbooking is especially beneficial for older people receiving care for memory-related issues because of several advantages, which can help lessen the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s as well as the depression brought on by aging. Here are a few reasons why your elderly loved one could benefit from starting scrapbooking as a hobby.
Memory Retention
Older adults receiving dementia care under the Shine Memory Care program can look back on stories from their lives through photos and documents by creating scrapbooks.
Your loved one’s mind is stimulated and trained to recall by having them arrange these things in a logical, sequential order.
Thanks to this technique, they’ll be able to control their dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms in an engaging and interactive manner.
Keeps Loneliness at Bay
The loneliness that many elders feel may cause the brain to enter a state of self-preservation. Among other symptoms, this behavior frequently causes memory loss and sleep problems. By allowing your loved one to share life experiences and interests with others, scrapbooking can serve as a social activity that lessens the feelings of loneliness they may experience.
Here at our retirement community, older adults are kept active through an exciting range of programs and activities like scrapbooking.
Fosters Better Communication
Scrapbooking efforts can speak for elders who are unable to express themselves vocally by serving as silent, still movies of their life. The images your loved one chooses can still serve as representations of how he or she is feeling or what he or she wants to convey, even if they are unrelated to friends and family. Moreover, this visual form of communication can help alleviate loneliness and depression-related symptoms.
Improves Creative Skills
Few people are skilled at properly expressing art. By helping your loved one learn new creative talents through scrapbooking, he or she can also strengthen cognitive skills. Short-term memory, which is particularly fragile in elderly people with dementia, can be improved by picking up this new hobby.
Their artistic skills are developed with each piece of craft paper and the arrangement of photos they personally select.
Not to mention, they’ll also experience an invaluable sense of accomplishment once they’re done with their personal scrapbook.
Lessens Stress
Stress is one of the main elements causing the decline in cognitive ability among the elderly. Stress can cause the hormone cortisol to be released, which can alter eating and sleeping patterns and raise the risk of dementia and other cognitive problems. Scrapbooking is an excellent hobby to counteract this, as it is calming and helps to lower stress, thereby preventing the likelihood of these health issues from worsening.
In order to improve the mental and emotional welfare of older adults, scrapbooking or other mentally engaging activities are essential for keeping them active and engaged. In retirement communities, these activities are encouraged, and you or your loved one will have easy access to all the resources and assistance they may need to enhance their experience. You may want to consider moving into a retirement community today!
