Boredom in Seniors

 

Having free time does not always mean having time for being prolific. For many older people, this excess of freedom to do whatever they want turns against them: what do you do when you don't have any plans to get through the day? Boredom in old age is a common circumstance, but according to healthcare executive Elly Kleinman, it has a simple solution- get active.

Why are older people bored?

The third age is a different stage in each individual. There are people who throughout their lives have been very active thanks to hobbies and social contacts that they will continue to maintain as they grow older. Others, on the other hand, may have never shown much interest in any particular activity and, at this stage, they find it more difficult to find motivation for something.

In any case, Mr. Kleinman, founder and CEO of Americare, explains that it is quite common for social life and activities to lose weight every day as we get older. It must be borne in mind that health issues, age-related fears or the lack of someone with whom to share those moments of leisure have an influence. All of this can lead to a situation that is not suitable for anyone, but especially for the elderly: a sedentary life lacking in stimuli.

Taking into account that the usual thing in the elderly is also to have more free time, the result of this combination of factors is less attractive than it might initially seem: too much time and too little to do.

Boredom and corona-virus, a bleak combination

One of the side effects of the pandemic has been boredom. This circumstance, aggravated during confinement and later with mobility and assembly restrictions, has had repercussions in all age groups.

However, while young people have had more facilities to counteract the tedium of days with nothing to do thanks to the use of technology, for older people it has been another challenge during this pandemic. With the disappearance of the usual forms of entertainment at these ages, from board games and crafts at home to playing petanque in a public park, the elderly have seen their boredom increased.

Beyond the uncertainty generated by the health situation, the truth is that the course of the days during the last year has been marked by the boredom of the predictable, with the frustration and negativity that derives from it. Now that normality is gradually recovering, Elly Kleinman believes it is important that caregivers and relatives of the elderly have a strategy in place to cope with boredom and coronavirus in this new scenario.