Staying active and engaged is essential for seniors, even when mobility is limited. Fortunately, countless enjoyable activities, from creative arts and gentle exercises to brain games and social hobbies, can bring joy, stimulation, and a sense of accomplishment to daily life. Let's discuss nine specific activities for seniors with limited mobility!
Seniors with Limited Mobility Can Still Enjoy a Variety of Activities
Many older adults lose mobility due to conditions like stroke, severe arthritis, or injuries from falls.
When that happens, activities and hobbies they used to enjoy might now be too difficult.
But loss of mobility doesn’t mean the end of good times. There are many ways to have fun, boost your mood, and stay engaged in the world without needing to move around too much.
We rounded up nine wonderful activities for seniors with limited mobility to help you find things that suit your older adult's interests.
9 great activities for seniors with limited mobility
1. Spend time reading
Reading is a fantastic activity for older adults. It’s a fun way to spend time and keep the brain engaged.
It can also improve memory, reduce stress, improve sleep, and delay cognitive decline.
Whether your older adults like reading physical books or magazines, using an e-reader, or listening to audiobooks, they can immerse themselves in a well-told story, look at photographs, or learn about an interesting new topic.
Organizing a book club among their friends is another way for seniors to enjoy reading and socializing.
2. Explore a variety of hobbies
Hobbies are great for older adults with limited mobility.
Activities that don’t require much moving around include cooking, baking, birdwatching, knitting, crocheting, indoor or container gardening, playing a musical instrument, or learning a language.
This is also a perfect time to learn something new – maybe there are hobbies or interests they’ve never had a chance to explore before.
Learning is also a great way to keep the mind active and prevent boredom.
3. Exercise regularly
Even if your older adult isn’t very mobile, there may still be exercises they can do to get their bodies moving.
Whether sitting or standing, seniors can still get health and mood benefits from seated exercises or chair yoga routines.
Exercise routines can also be done using a walker for stability or just focused on the feet and ankles to reduce swelling.
4. Get creative
Getting in touch with their creative side is another fun way for seniors to spend time.
Drawing, coloring, painting, and sculpture are all excellent ways to be creative. Fun projects might include creating scrapbooks, organizing family photo albums, or making a family recipe book.
As a plus, being creative also comes with health benefits.
Research has found creative activities can help people battling chronic illness decrease negative emotions and increase positive ones, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve medical outcomes.
5. Spend time outdoors
Getting outside to spend a little time in nature is relaxing and a great mood booster.
Even if their limited mobility means that your older adult can only get to the porch or sit next to a big window, getting some fresh air or viewing the scenery is a great everyday activity.
6. Have fun with happy visitors
Asking family or friends with babies or friendly pets to stop by for a visit is another fantastic way to engage an older adult.
Almost everyone perks up in the presence of young children. And playing with pets is another surefire way to bring cheer and reduce stress.
7. Play games!
Games and puzzles are a fantastic source of fun times.
There are so many to choose from and most can be played in groups with visitors, one-on-one for quality time together, and solo.
Try some classic games or card games, jigsaw puzzles, or crossword puzzles.
8. Enjoy movies, TV shows, or music
Watching TV all day, every day isn’t a healthy pastime, but a movie or a couple of TV shows can be an enjoyable part of the day or week.
Watching TV could even intersect with a hobby.
For example, seniors might be interested in watching a documentary on a topic they’re learning about. Channels like the Food Network or the Travel Channel could inspire new recipes to try or travel destinations to know about.
Listening (or singing along!) to music they enjoy is another great activity.
Music has the power to reduce stress, anxiety, and pain. It also improves immune function and sleep as well as helping memory.
9. Participate in charitable works
Even if your older adult isn’t mobile or homebound, they can give back to the community.
This is an excellent way to stay engaged and feel a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Contact local charities, hospitals, or religious organizations to find out if they have any projects your older adult could contribute to. That could mean knitting or crocheting blankets or hats, creating no-sew blankets, or helping to assemble care packages.
Recommended for you:
- Chair Yoga for Seniors: Reduce Pain and Improve Health
- Music Seniors Love: Top Songs from Every Generation
- Free Crosswords for Seniors: Large Print Puzzles
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About the Author
Connie Chow
Connie was a hands-on caregiver for her grandmother for 20 years. (Grandma made it to 101 years old!) She knows how challenging, overwhelming, and all-consuming caring for an older adult can be. She also knows how important support is — especially in the form of practical solutions, valuable resources, and self-care tips.
Tabletop Role Playing Games are something that people of all ages can do. People that cannot experience things in real life can experience them whith a tabletop roleplaying game like Fate Core. You are a character in the game world and experience what that character are doing. Fate Core is a good game because it’s possible to play anything with it. You can see whatever film you like and then build up that world and play your character in that world.
After the game you remember what happened during the play and you can talk about it with the other players that also played in that game. The game gives new memories to talk about.
Thanks for sharing this great suggestion!
A lot of these suggestions seem to be geared towards mom’s. What about dad’s? My dad is almost 95. He has been exercising too much that his legs swelled. The doctor told him to lay of the weights but still exercise. But besides reading what else is there for a 95 year old to do?
This list of activities is gender neutral. Of course, each individual person will have different preferences, so it’s up to those that know them best to try to find activities that they’ll enjoy and that suit their current abilities.
We’ve got additional ideas here for gentle exercise that may be helpful – https://dailycaring.com/tag/exercise/
We’ve also got additional activity ideas here – https://dailycaring.com/category/daily-care/activities-older-adults/
Thank you for all your ideas and suggestions for things a senior can do to pass the time when there is limited mobility. I have found them very helpful and look forward to trying them out.
You’re very welcome! We’re so glad they’re useful.
Hello,
You are a Godsend! What you shared, amazing knowledge, thank you beyond. When searching Google, help, mom is 81, i read your article and shame on me for not taking time to enjoy mom. Today a new day, and because you shared, I will be a better caregiver for mom. I will include her instead of diy. Thank you again
Jj
You’re already doing wonderfully and it’s great that you found some new ideas here that will be helpful in the future ❤️
I am 68 years old. I am healthy, thank God. I walk daily, do yoga and swim. I try to eat healthy and drink wine occasionally. Love to dance, play spades and bid whisk. I would like to join or start a like group of seniors. This pandemic will end and I would like to have formed or started like minded group. Any recommendations or advice…
That’s wonderful! You might want to contact local senior centers or community centers to find out about the types of groups and activities they have available, both now and in pre-pandemic times.
I think these are all good suggestions and I have used them to help with the care of my own mom. I have another activity that my mom enjoyed and that was getting a old fashioned back rub or hands or feet it really does wonders for there comfort and enjoyment. or coloring books for adults using markers or word search booklets or crossword puzzles and getting them outdoors if possible to soak up some fresh air and sunshine really boosts the morale
Those are wonderful suggestions, thank you for sharing!
hi
my client is in the middle of her life. so she has the demenia and we are having a trouble of get her on and off the potty. She has a grip that would not get her off the w/c and on to the potty.
Do you have any saggesions for that?
Thank you
Pat
Helping someone move from wheelchair to toilet can be a challenge. This article might offer some helpful tips — Transfer from Wheelchair to Toilet: How to Safely Help Seniors https://dailycaring.com/transfer-from-wheelchair-to-toilet-how-to-safely-help-seniors/
Whenever I read one of your articles I feel it just touches the very tip of the iceberg and I need much more in depth material. Too simplistic is just that too simple.
Do you have specific questions that we can help answer?
How do you motivate a senior to want to play a game, do a jigsaw puzzle etc when all they do is sleep their lives away all day with the TV on in the background?
If someone is very fatigued and needs to sleep a lot, it’s a good idea to rule out a health condition, untreated pain, depression, medication side effect, or other medical issue that’s causing it.
Assuming there are no medical issues, it’s great to offer a variety of activity options in hopes of finding something that appeals to them. You might need to experiment before you find something they’re interested in. Or arrange to do something together with them, having company might be a motivating factor.
It’s wonderful to try your best to engage them, but ultimately, you can’t force someone to do things if they really don’t want to.
My wife and I are in our 80’s–she 85, I am 84
I have copied your list of activities and we do
several each week: ie we go to a local park, bring
chairs and a small table , coffee, a donut…….
and we work a crossword puzzle. It is lots of fun:
being together, watching people, working a puzzle,
being out at a park w/ Green trees and grass.
And we always look forward to next week.
[personal info redacted for privacy]
That’s fantastic! We’re so glad that you and your wife are enjoying so many fun activities 🙂
Bob- Your comment here touched me. What I read into it is you and your wife have the upbeat attitude that is needed to engage in life.
My 93 year old mother has so much going for her but without the upbeat attitude like yours. Like one of the other comments said, ultimately she has to want to do it herself.
Just knowing you and your wife are enjoying your days touched my heart. Thank you.
My mother in law is 95 years old memory good but she had a fall and fractured her right arm after that she is confused every two seconds walks from reclining chair to the bed . I am scared she will have a fall please advise she get agitated if we tell her not to do it
If your mother-in-law is experiencing confusion or odd behavior after her fall, it would be best to have her doctor do a thorough examination to rule out cognitive issues caused by the fall.
Since you can’t prevent her from walking around, do your best to make the area safer to reduce her risk of injury. Or she may need more supervision so someone can jump in to steady her if she loses her balance.
This article shares a guide that helps improve home safety – Home Modifications for Seniors: A Room-by-Room Guide for Safety and Independence https://dailycaring.com/home-modifications-for-seniors-a-room-by-room-guide/
It might also help to provide enjoyable, soothing activities to help her feel more calm and not get bored. We have a wide variety of activity ideas here – https://dailycaring.com/category/daily-care/activities-older-adults/
I think this is NOT the norm. The articles seem to offer just the right amount of information. They are simple, yes, but still very informative. How much more could you wnt?
Thank you! We appreciate your feedback and support
Looking for mother. Looking for somewhere she can do activities , on daily basis . To get her out of house. And occupy her time. On the days she wants to. Thank you .
That’s a great idea. You might want to start by contacting local senior centers and adult day programs to see if they’re offering something that would suit your mother. You may also want to contact your local Area Agency on Aging to find out if they can connect you with other local organizations that may be helpful.
More info here:
— Adult Day Programs Help Seniors Live at Home Longer https://dailycaring.com/adult-day-services-help-seniors-live-at-home-longer/
— Area Agency on Aging: Resources for Seniors https://dailycaring.com/area-agency-on-aging-resources-for-seniors/
If the person is a veteran, the VA has a Caregiving Benefit which pays for someone to come in and help with your veteran. It takes a lot of paperwork but they will assist you with that. This has helped me with dad immensely!
So glad that the VA was able to provide help to your dad and you!