Top Senior Wellness Trends You Can Actually Benefit From

As we all know, wellness trends come and go. That’s why they’re considered trends rather than becoming consistent lifestyle habits. It’s no different in senior wellness than it is in the broader health industry overall. Yet, just because something is a trend, that doesn’t mean you should avoid it altogether. Sure, some trends are worth skipping, but others may be worth your while.

We put together this post to highlight some senior health and wellness trends we think you may benefit from. Maybe they’ll even be here to stay. Our experienced staff at Village Green Senior Living are happy to guide residents on the best ways to improve their overall health and well-being.

What is Senior Wellness?

The trends we’ve been watching fall under the senior wellness category. What does wellness mean exactly? It has to do with different aspects of a person’s health, well-being and quality of life. There are many aspects of life that have a part to play in your overall wellness.

It can be broken down into seven areas of wellness. These include:

• Physical wellness
• Emotional wellness
• Intellectual wellness
• Social wellness
• Spiritual wellness
• Vocational/occupational wellness
• Environmental wellness

Each senior wellness trend may impact one or more areas of wellness.

Current Beneficial Senior Trends

Here are some senior trends to look out for:

1. A Wellness Focus in Senior Living

A trend is for senior living communities to stop focusing only on senior health care and instead broaden their focus toward a wellness lifestyle. The concept embraces a healthy lifestyle in the sunset years, with a focus on all aspects of well-being. Within this model, healthcare options are available as just one optional service within a range of offerings that target fitness, nutrition, a social life, cognitive activities, and more.

2. Increased Technology

Just as technological advancements have impacted all aspects of society, technology is changing the senior living scene as well. For example, many senior living communities are using smart technology for dispensing medication, turning on lights at night, personalizing workouts, monitoring heart rate, and more.

Technology trends aren’t just popping up for senior living communities, but for seniors to use themselves as well. For example, AARP reported that more seniors are using mindfulness apps now for mental health purposes. And you can find virtual senior fitness geared just for your age group. Vivo, SilverSneakers, and Silver&Fit are examples of brands offering virtual fitness activities designed for the 55-plus crowd.

3. Gut Health

It’s a trend to put more attention on gut health, but that’s because research has been finding an important relationship between the gut microbiome, which includes a balance of microorganisms, and our overall health. While this discovery is important for all ages, it connects even more to senior health and age-associated diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Part of the gut health trend is to have your balance of healthy and harmful microorganisms tested. Another part is to engage in healthy lifestyle habits that support a balanced gut microbiome, such as eating more healthy foods like prebiotics and probiotics.

4. Meditation

While meditation isn’t new by any means, it has recently become more popular in our modern culture and for seniors. At least part of the reasons includes people seeking out more healthy, natural ways to reduce stress and research that supports the health and wellness benefits of meditation.

Some trends in this area include senior communities adding meditation to their activity offerings and the onset of meditation apps. Another trend is to practice mindfulness to notice what’s going on around you without reacting to it, which helps you stay in the moment and manage emotions. Also, meditation is becoming more popular for seniors in particular because it is showing benefits for health conditions that many older people experience, such as high blood pressure and chronic pain.

Senior Wellness Tips

If you want to focus on improving your wellness as a senior, think of the seven areas of wellness. Here are some helpful tips, which you can click on to read more:

• Track your nutrition and aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet
• Determine whether you could benefit from gaining or losing weight to be your healthiest
• Engage in physical activity targeted to seniors, such as strength training, aerobic exercises, and stretches
• Prioritize all aspects of health, including physical, mental, and emotional health, to age gracefully
• Find ways to improve memory and cognitive health, such as through writing

Choose Senior Living That Prioritizes Wellness

At Village Green Senior Living, we put an emphasis on senior wellness. We have a variety of clinical care services, meal plans, and activities that help you meet the different areas of wellness. Our activities include fitness classes, group activities that encourage socializing, meal outings, and more.

Contact us to set up a tour of our community, learn more about how we prioritize wellness, and ask about our senior living availability.