April 9, 2021
Home Care: You might think that they should take up drawing, walking, painting, or playing an instrument. All of those hobbies could be great for your elderly loved one. However, another hobby that your elderly loved one could benefit greatly from is knitting. There are so many ways that senior citizens can benefit from this hobby.
If your elderly loved one takes up knitting, it could help to lower their stress levels. Research shows that knitting relieves stress due to repetitive motions. When someone is knitting, they move their fingers and hands back and forth continuously. This can help to calm the mind and the body. Repetitive motions also reduce cortisol levels. When these levels are lower, stress lowers, too.
Knitting can help to increase your elderly loved one’s self-esteem, as well. When your elderly loved one starts a knitting project and sees it through to the end, it can make them feel so proud. Even completing an easy knitting project can be fulfilling. If your elderly loved one could use a self-esteem boost, you or a home care provider should help them get into knitting.
Some people have bad habits. For example, your elderly loved one might smoke cigarettes, bite their nails, or eat unhealthy snacks. One of the ways they can stop doing a bad habit is to replace it with a positive habit. Knitting could be the positive habit they pick up. In addition, knitting keeps their hands busy. This means they can’t be holding a cigarette, biting their nails, or eating unhealthy snacks while knitting. That could make it easier to break their bad habit.
Some people think that knitting can cause arthritis. However, the truth is that knitting can help because it moves the joints in the fingers. This helps to relieve tension in the hands. Both of these things can help to reduce pain and keep the joints healthy, too.
There are many hobbies your elderly loved one could pick up. One of the best ideas is for them to start knitting. Even if they don’t know how to knit at all, you or a home care provider could show them videos or sign them up for a knitting class. With all the great benefits of knitting, your elderly loved one may at least want to try knitting.
