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Winter naturally shifts the pace of life for all of us. For older adults who spend more time indoors, the need for activities to emphasize physical and cognitive health takes on a special priority. And with shorter days and dusk falling before six o’clock during Georgia’s winter months, scheduling daily activities and keeping the body and mind active becomes more important than ever. Thankfully, there are plenty of fun ways seniors can maintain their health and independence in less-than-ideal weather.

Keep Moving and Grooving With These Feel-Good Exercises

It’s no secret that regular physical movement keeps your joints flexible, improves balance, and kick-starts your blood circulation from your brain to your toes. Stretching and exercising are also great natural mood enhancers that can help chase away the blues even on the gloomiest winter days.

But coming up with creative ways to stay active and keep moving can become a little tricky without the warm temperatures and sunshine that often keep us motivated. Still, exercise can be fun and doable for older adults—even when the outdoor weather is not the friendliest. 

Below are a few exercise ideas that can be easily implemented indoors to help seniors achieve their activity goals when the weather turns. Whether you’re living alone at home, with a loved one, or residing in an assisted living community, these exercises can provide a great alternative to keep you strong and well. Most require little to no equipment, except for a chair or a small pair of dumbbells that you can safely manage.

• Seated Marching: Sit on a sturdy chair and alternate lifting each knee like you’re walking

• Arm Circles: Stretch both arms out to your sides and draw little circles in the air, making them bigger as you feel your shoulder muscles stretch

• Ankle Rotations: Pick up one foot while you’re sitting and move your ankle around in a circle, first one way, then the other.

• Seated Side Bends: Sit up straight, then lean gently to one side while reaching your arm up and over.

• Chair Stands: Practice going from sitting to standing and back again, taking it slowly and easy so you don’t lose your balance or overexert yourself. Chair stands help strengthen leg muscles to improve walking stability.

• Seated Leg Extensions: While sitting on a chair, stretch one leg straight out in front of you, hold the leg elevated for two or three seconds, then bring it back down.

• Seated Punches: Sit with good posture and throw soft punches forward, switching arms like you’re in a friendly boxing match. Just for laughs, you could have a friend sit opposite you and perform the same exercise!

• Seated Hip Marches: Bring one knee up as far as you can without causing discomfort, lower the knee, and then switch and bring up the other knee

• Bicep Curls: Hold a full water bottle in one hand and pretend you’re lifting a lightweight dumbbell. If you can lift something heavier than a water bottle, that’s great!

• Seated Cat-Cow Stretch: While you’re sitting, curve your spine backward and look up at the ceiling, then round forward and look down at your lap.

Dancing to the Oldies

Nothing stirs vivid memories of high school and happy times than the music of your generation. Whether you were old enough to idolize Elvis or get caught up in Beatlemania, popular songs from the ’50s and ’60s still make you want to get up and do the Twist or the Watusi. Listening to music helps pass those long winter evenings while giving everyone a chance to debate whether Elvis or The Beatles reigned supreme. Music not only stimulates brain activity but also boosts your mood and encourages social interactions.

Try these easy exercises when listening to groovy tunes:

• Hand therapy balls to the beat: Squeeze a foam ball or therapy putty to the beat of “Rock Around the Clock” or “Hard Day’s Night.”

• Name that tune: Play the first few seconds of classic songs and compete to identify the title and artist

• Clapping or snapping along: Clap your hands together or snap your fingers with the rhythm of catchy tunes. It’s simple but keeps your reflexes and coordination sharp.

• Play an instrument along with a song: We’re not saying you need to learn to play the guitar or drums, but shaking a tambourine or maracas to the beat almost makes you feel like you’re part of the band–almost!

Flex Your Mental Muscles

When you let the dust settle on your brain cells, they can literally stop communicating with each other. Without external stimulation to motivate them into action, they can sit idle, doing nothing. Neurons won’t create new connections with other neurons, and some die off from lack of use.

It’s common knowledge that doing crossword puzzles, memorizing new information, and playing cards, checkers, or other tabletop games are excellent ways for seniors to keep their cognitive skills tuned up and flexible. Here are some other unique brain sit-ups older adults or assisted living residents can do together:

• Trivia tournaments: Answer questions exclusively about the 1950s and 1960s. You can find thousands of trivia questions on the Internet about these decades.
• Holiday Postal Exchange: Create a “winter post office” in a common area where residents mail anonymous uplifting notes, stories, or riddles to other residents.
• Word association chains: Gather a circle of friends or family members together. One person says a word, the next says what it makes them think of, and then that person comes up with a different word.
• Chime-Crafting from Found Objects: Make winter chimes using buttons, old keys, ribbons, shells, or wooden pieces, and then hang them where movement occurs, so gentle air movements make them “chime.”
• Truth or fiction? Share three stories from your life, with one being a story you made up. Then, others in the group have to guess which story is fictional.
• Winter Scavenger Hunt: Hide small holiday items (pine cones, bells, fake snowflakes) in common areas for residents or family members to find at their own pace. Award a prize to whoever finds the most
• What’s missing? Memorize a tray of objects—things like ink pens, coins, rubber bands, and pieces of candy. Have someone remove or add items, then identify what changed.

Dive Into a Good Book (and Good Company)

There’s nothing quite like getting lost in a captivating novel or short story. Whether you’re turning pages yourself or letting someone else do the reading for you, book clubs give you a reason to chat about characters, themes, and plot twists over coffee or tea on a winter afternoon. Ask your book club friends questions like, “Which character would you actually want as a friend?” or “What part of the book stuck with you days later? Did the ending feel right, or would you have written it differently?” These questions get everyone talking and often lead to stories about your own experiences that may be similar to what happened in the book.

Visit Your Family By Connecting to the Internet

A tablet or computer can provide face-to-face visits with family members living 10 or even 500 miles away. Apps like FaceTime, Zoom, or WhatsApp turn your screen into a window, letting you watch your grandson blow out his birthday candles in real time or see your great-granddaughter pose in her Halloween costume. You can prop up a tablet on a stand or hold it in your lap, and with one tap, suddenly be sitting in on Sunday dinner with your family even though you’re hundreds of miles away.

Between video visits, photo-sharing keeps the connection alive. Your family can send pictures directly to your tablet through apps like Google Photos. Learning how to open photos, zoom in for a closer look, or send pictures back in reply is easier than you think! Once you get the hang of it, staying in touch through digital technology becomes as natural as flipping through an old-fashioned photo album.

Winter doesn’t mean everything grinds to a halt. It just slows down a bit to give you time to appreciate things you might rush past during busier months. A good mystery novel holds your attention on a gray afternoon, familiar songs from the ’50s lift your mood when you sing along, and finishing a 500-piece puzzle while snow falls outside brings a genuine sense of accomplishment. Winter permits you to take your time exploring new activities and enjoying the company of close friends.

Connect with a community of friends at The Landings of Canton Hills and stay active and engaged this winter! Explore a respite care option or consider our assisted living or memory care options for a lifestyle that caters to your preferences while supporting your daily needs. Contact us today to schedule a tour or follow our blog for more great resources on healthy aging.