Even though moving into a senior living community, whether it offers independent or assisted living, brings a host of amazing benefits for older adults, the decision to move into senior housing can often be very difficult for individuals and their families. Despite all the benefits that come with life in a senior living or retirement community, the decision to move into senior housing can make seniors feel like they are losing their autonomy or their ability to order their own life. This decision can be made particularly difficult when individuals have lived in the same home for decades, and are resistant to say goodbye to the home they’ve built and the habits they enjoy. 

If you or a loved one are thinking about making the move to senior housing, it can be helpful to focus on all the benefits that come with life at a senior living or retirement community. Below, find five amazing benefits of helping your parents move into a senior living.

Resort-Style Amenities

One of the most exciting reasons to move to a senior living community is that many senior living communities offer resort-style amenities, bringing a wide range of social activities and cultural events right to your doorstep. While you may already know about classic senior living community amenities like swimming pools or fitness centers, many people are pleasantly surprised to know how many senior living communities have additional amenities like movie theaters, hair salons, libraries, and game rooms. These amenities allow seniors to live rich, comfortable lives without having to travel or organize to the extent they would have to while living independently. 

In addition to these amenities, many senior living and retirement communities provide access to cultural events like speaker series, or organized trips to local museums or parks. Relatedly, many senior living communities also have various interest or social groups - such as book clubs or discussion groups - that keep residents engaged and social. 

Mental and Physical Health

In addition to being fun in their own right, the amenities and activities at senior living communities also provide important wellness benefits. Many studies have shown that there are important wellness benefits to staying social, with seniors who remain social often exhibiting better mental and physical health outcomes. Seniors can greatly increase their wellbeing simply by living around others and sharing daily behaviors like having a meal or participating in a fitness class together.

In addition to the important benefits of a social lifestyle, senior living communities provide easy access to fitness facilities and trained staff who can assist seniors with crafting and maintaining exercise and wellness regimes. While assisted living and skilled nursing facilities will of course offer a high level of care and assistance, even independent living communities provide important support that makes it easy for seniors to remain healthy and active.

A sense of peace and mind

Senior living communities can also provide a sense of security and peace of mind. Many communities have 24-hour security, and assisted living, memory care, and senior nursing facilities also maintain on-site medical staff who can provide assistance if needed. This can give you and your parents peace of mind knowing that there is always someone there to help in case of an emergency. This is true even for those who  are moving to independent living and don’t foresee themselves needing any daily assistance for care. For many seniors and their families, the peace of mind that comes with moving to senior living can make the move worth it all on its own.

No more housework or upkeep

One very common reason that people decide to move into senior living is that the burden of maintaining a home becomes too much as they  age. Even for people who love doing chores around the house, it can be difficult to do things like climb multiple sets of stairs each day to maintain a tidy home as you get older (to say nothing of more physically involved chores like cleaning the gutters or shoveling snow from the driveway). Because the upkeep involved with maintaining a home becomes either impossible or very difficult with age, many seniors love moving to a senior living community as it means saying goodbye to all of these chores. Moving to a senior living community not only eliminates the big headaches of home ownership (things like fixing a leaky roof or replacing a big appliance), it also makes day-to-day upkeep easier as many senior living communities provide daily linen and housekeeping services.

Dining and nutrition

Related to the wellness benefits listed above, senior living communities provide the incredibly important benefit of helping seniors maintain proper nutrition by providing daily, healthy meals. Maintaining proper nutrition can be a challenge particularly for seniors who are living on their own. Many senior living communities have state of the art dining facilities, often providing multiple dinings options like having several dinings rooms and cafes throughout the facility, which provide healthy and nutritious dining options. Not only do these meals help provide a key part of senior wellness, but because many senior living communities employ professional, five-star chefs the meals are often incredibly tasty as well. Even for those seniors who don’t need help getting adequate nutrition, it can be incredibly relaxing to not have to worry about food preparation, and instead enjoy gourmet style food each meal prepared by someone else.

Helping your parents move into a senior living community can be a rewarding experience for both of you. It's an opportunity to spend time together and create new memories. It can also give you peace of mind knowing that your parents are being taken care of and surrounded by professionals who are providing them with a social and active environment. Senior living communities are beneficial for many reasons, and are an amazing option to consider as a family.

To learn more about how Sunbound can help make senior living more affordable for you or your loved one, send us an email at info@sunboundhomes.com or request more information on Sunbound. Sunbound is the best way to pay for senior living and is on a mission to make senior living affordable for everyone.