Get Rid of the Winter Blues!
Get Rid of the Winter Blues!
The lack of sunshine and longer dark hours can make anyone feel bummed, and ignoring these feelings could worsen the problem and require medical attention for those who develop seasonal affective disorder. Senior adults are especially a concern, considering many are less mobile and less active on their own. Fortunately, there are many tips to help you or a loved one kick their winter blues to the curb.
Open the Shades and Blinds
Allowing sunlight to flood the room as much as possible while it is shining is a great way to boost your mood. If the weather permits, going outside for a while each day is another rewarding alternative to being cooped up indoors all winter long.
Stay Active
There are many exercises you can do in your own home when it is much too cold to go outside. Cleaning around the house, lifting light weights, and walking are just a few of the various options. It is important that you and your loved ones are staying active during the winter time and are not overeating, which could cause additional health problems.
Socialize, Socialize, Socialize!
Especially during the colder months it can become difficult to leave the home and stay connected with friends and family. Socializing improved mental and emotional health and is a helpful reminder that we are all in this winter struggle together! Utilizing social media is an extremely efficient option and is easily navigable for anyone, including Senior adults. Help your loved ones add friends and family members and start chatting!
Maintain Health
Ensuring that you are keeping a healthy diet despite the dark and cold temperatures will eliminate unhealthy weight gain that occurs due to increased craving for sweets and a “hibernation” feeling during winter, and improve physical health. As we all know, winter season is also cold and flu season, and being sick makes winter seem even more dreadful. Practicing good hygiene and hand washing is crucial to keeping you and those around you healthy. Make sure to frequently sanitize germ-concentrated areas such as door knobs, railings, and phones/remotes.
Have a Positive Outlook
If you change the way you think about winter and incorporate activities that you enjoy each day, your mood will improve. A majority of the sadness we endure in winter is caused by our own thoughts of the cold, and it is important to remember that winter will end and warm months are only getting closer as each day passes. So, stay positive and Spring will be here before we know it!
Common signs that you or someone you know is experiencing a case of the winter blues include a general lack of interest in life, increased tiredness, and increased sadness. Practicing these tips can help make winter seem less brutal and improve your overall happiness and well-being, but don’t worry, winter will be over soon enough!
Here at Naperville Senior Center we offer a variety of fun activities, crafts, and exercises that are both enjoyable and physically and mentally stimulating. We are currently in the process of an exciting Winter Olympics including shot put (used with bags), biking, walking, and shuffleboard. We sure aren’t letting this frigid weather bring us down!
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Tour our adult day services facility.
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Do you feel like you have to be cooped up in the winter? You don’t have to! There are plenty of things to do in the Chicagoland area. Embrace the winter wonderland; don’t hide from it!
There are more than 5,000 adult day centers across the country with more than 260,000 participants, according to the 
Make it fun. Give your parent a fun reason to go. Is there a fantastic arts program? Or another activity that your mother or father would really enjoy? “The first day, look for a hook,” Eskenazi recommends. “Is there a trip or an activity they would like? Make sure you plan for the first day so they’re engaged right from the start.”
Ask a professional to step in. If you and your parent just aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on attending a day center, you may wish to reach out to a third party for help. Your mother or father may go willingly if a doctor or a social worker offers the suggestion. At Alzheimer’s Community Care, which runs 10 dementia-specific adult day centers in South Florida, a family nurse consultant will often encourage a parent to attend a day center when an adult child is having no luck. Once through the door, he or she is often happy to be there. “We hear these stories all the time,” says Kathleen Herd, vice president of development for the organization. In one case, the family nurse consultant drove the mother right to the day center. “Her face lit up. Here was her peer group and she didn’t even know she was missing it,” says Mary Barnes, executive director of Alzheimer’s Community Care.
Start with a short schedule. Don’t ask a parent to stay too long at a day center on the first day. “Make it short. Make it easy. Don’t make someone stay the whole day,” Eskenazi says. Don’t overwhelm a parent by booking too many days early on. Keep the schedule as light as possible. “Start with maybe one or two days per week. I would recommend someone starting an adult day center with a shorter schedule and then working up to more days and more hours over time,” Eskenazi says. Be supportive. If a day center is a positive experience for a parent, be upbeat and positive and encourage him or her to attend. “Let them decide if they want more days,” Eskenazi says.
“It often takes several visits to an adult day center for a new person to feel comfortable in a new setting and new routine,” Barnes says. “The ideal situation [in their eyes] is for them to be with you, and you can’t do it 24/7. Ask the staff for help in making the transition from home to the day center.” A parent with a neurocognitive disorder may be insecure about new experiences. But if you are a strong proponent for the day center, a parent may feel more comfortable attending.
It’s hard to believe that it was just a year ago when we received our permit to begin construction on the Naperville Senior Center space. I remember being there on Christmas 2014 with Pam, Emily and Zach with our hardhats on looking at the drawings and realizing this was really going to happen!
Our best year yet has been jam packed since opening our doors on February 25, 2015!
We hosted our first of two ribbon cuttings on St. Patrick’s Day with the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce.
We hosted a mini Walk for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society in June, and raised over $2,400 to fight cancer. We want to be sure our Members continue to exercise – and being able to do it for an important cause was a great motivator!
We provided fun activities for our Members including planting a garden (and then enjoying the fruits and vegetables of their labor), dressing up on Talk Like a Pirate Day, and having children come by before Halloween to get treats and play games with our Members.
We have hosted several Continuing Education (CEU) Workshops after hours for nurses, therapists and social workers. We are happy to provide this amazing venue for the community when they need to come together to gather and learn.
We hosted our 1st Annual Fall Craft and Vendor Fair in November. Thank you to all 23 vendors who joined us for a wonderful event. Our Members were even involved in making most of our crafts that were sold that day.
We hosted a Business After Hours event with co-sponsor Oasis Senior Advisors, for the 
