Research suggests that around 20% of individuals above the age of 70 suffer from depression. Similarly, loneliness and anxiety are also issues that have become increasingly prevalent among seniors, especially after retirement.
Although there are many factors that lead to such issues, one of the main reasons why senior citizens often suffer from depression and loneliness is social isolation.
As they grow old, senior citizens often stay at home for longer periods of time. Due to this, they are unable to interact with their friends or family on a regular basis. In most cases, this has a huge impact on their mental health and they start feeling lonely or depressed.
Why Social Interaction is Necessary for Seniors
Before retirement, many individuals have an active lifestyle where they usually meet a lot of folks. They maintain relationships with several people and spend quality time in the company of their colleagues or friends.
These social interactions prove to be very helpful for an individual’s mental well-being. It keeps their mind active and gives them something to look forward to. However, due to retirement, they spend most of their time alone and miss out on such interactions.
How to Stay Socially Active After Retirement?
There are many ways through which senior citizens can stay socially active even after their retirement. One of the simplest ways to have some form of social interaction is to find a unique hobby or activity.
That’s right. Pursuing a regular hobby would not only allow them to meet different people, but it would also help them create a daily routine for themselves.
Moreover, the whole world has now gone digital. This has made it easier than ever for seniors to pursue their favorite hobbies, as they can now participate in various virtual activities from the comfort of their home.
Benefits of Social Interaction
1. Lower Risk of Depression
As we saw earlier, senior citizens are more likely to experience depression or anxiety due to increased social isolation. So, the only way to combat this issue would be to provide them with an opportunity to stay socially active.
2. Avoid Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
Regular social interactions would allow senior citizens to stay occupied. Since, they would be regularly meeting different people, it can prove to be extremely beneficial for their memory and can also potentially reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.
3. Lower Blood Pressure
According to various studies, staying active on online platforms and being a part of regular social interactions can help control hypertension. This is helpful for seniors as it can help maintain cardiovascular health and lower blood pressure too.
4. Improved Cognitive Function
Activities like Virtual Zumba Sessions or Online Yoga Workshops allow seniors citizens to stay physically and mentally active. Seniors who take part in similar group activities are known to experience improved cognitive function.
5. Sense of Belonging
One of the most important benefits of having regular social interactions is that seniors are known to experience a renewed sense of purpose and belonging.
Activities That Seniors Can Pursue After Retirement
Hobbies like Cooking or Gardening are quite popular among seniors. Senior citizens can now participate in Virtual Cooking Workshops, where people from different regions meet virtually and discuss their favorite recipes or talk about their cooking memories.
Similarly, seniors can also attend Online Gardening Sessions where a gardening expert gives them useful hacks and talks about ways in which they can maintain their home garden.
Seniors can participate in Online Quiz Competitions, where they can compete against some of their virtual friends. Singing is another popular hobby that seniors can now pursue through competitions like Online Antakshari.
As most of these activities are conducted only for seniors, they get a chance to interact with people who might have similar interests or hobbies. This opens up a new window of opportunity for senior citizens as they can now easily interact with other like-minded individuals.
Also, one of the main benefits of these workshops is that they are held online. This makes it even more convenient for senior citizens as they can now meet different people, without having to physically travel anywhere.
Therefore, such activities are a blessing in disguise for the elderly as they can stay occupied with different types of engaging sessions. This would also help them avoid feelings of loneliness or isolation, and would allow them to follow their favorite hobbies while having regular social interactions as well.
