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Month for Moving and Grooving 

1st April



It's the year for Moving and Grooving

Swarthmore supports the campaign to increase physical activity amongst our residents

NAPA (the National Activities Provider Association) supports a campaign within the care sector, known as the Year of Moving and Grooving, to prioritise physical activity and psychological and social wellbeing.

Regular exercise increases our heart rate, which changes the way we breathe. Deeper breaths allow more oxygen into our bloodstream, removing more carbon dioxide that causes us to feel sluggish. If we have more energy, we can move around more easily, and we are less likely to feel weak. Movement helps our thinking skills, which helps us solve problems, make decisions and improve our memory. It will also lessen the aches and pains as we age.

We all know that long periods of sitting can lead to loss of function. However, limited mobility does not mean you cannot exercise, as exercises themselves are adaptable to suit individual needs. It is never too late to engage in exercise; it is guaranteed to have a positive effect on your life.

Exercise can lower your risk of developing, or help you manage, many chronic health conditions, including coronary heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis. It can also reduce the risk of depression, dementia and Alzheimer's.

Exercise is also good for your mental wellbeing. It can:

• improve your mood

• increase your self-esteem

• give you a sense of achievement

• help you relax

• relieve stress

• improve your balance, strength, and agility

• provide an opportunity to make friends if you join groups

Exercising is even more enjoyable by including walking, gardening, dancing, armchair exercises. Some of us will be able to carry out other sports such as tennis, cycling or use of a gym. If you have a health condition or mobility problems, it’s essential to stay active. Areas that can help us keep moving: -

Dancing:
• Dancing provides us with the opportunity to engage with music and express ourselves physically. This is particularly positive for those who find it difficult to communicate verbally.

• It allows us to express ourselves without using words

• Balance and circulation improves and so does body strength

• It is good for the brain as it combines memories and physical coordination

• It helps us connect with other people

     Quote – A dance a day keeps the doctor away!

Music helps us relax, triggering the brain to remember those special memories throughout our lives, such as a memorable piece of music from a wedding day or a special birthday. Music is a vital tool when working with people with reduced verbal communication. Music helps to trigger a memory stored deep in our mind, which is especially important for those with dementia. Talk to people and find out about their life story - it may help trigger those special memories! The reaction can surprise us all.

A great way to exercise to music is what we call 'Armchair Moving and Grooving'. Some people may want to sit and enjoy the music, whereas others prefer to move their arms, legs or just their feet.

Walking is essential, even if you have limited mobility. Encouraging ourselves to walk more often is important; it may seem like a huge hurdle to get from A to B at times. Small but frequent movements can have a significant impact on our mental wellbeing and physical state. Areas that will help us improve our mobility include:

• walking around the home from room to room

• walking a short distance

• a stroll around the garden to refill bird feeders or water the flowers. Try spending time in the garden when the weather is fine. Try digging, sweeping, weeding, or planting seeds in pots. This helps boost oxygen levels and help a person maintain coordination, balance, and stamina

• a walk to the local park

Stress balls can be a simple way of encouraging physical activity, especially for those with reduced mobility. This activity can help:

 • your hand-eye coordination and dexterity

• Promote circulation and control

• with physical challenges

• improve manipulative skills

At the same time, this will provide relaxation and fun amongst fellow residents. The activity can be carried out in small groups as well as individually.

Gardening can provide many benefits and can quickly become an activity.

• Enhanced wellbeing from being outdoors

• Reduced symptoms of depression

• Relaxation and satisfaction

• Help improve mobility, especially with the hands

• Plant pots with seeds – includes vegetables, flowers or herbs.  This can become a project watching them grow, transferring them to larger pots and enjoying the end produce

As we age, sustaining a healthy lifestyle becomes an essential part of maintaining our day-to-day routines. It’s important to emphasise that a nutritional diet will impact wellbeing and independence. Nutrition and hydration are vital areas of life to maintain good health and mind, which prolongs life. It will also give you the energy to carry out exercises.

 • Exercise, together with lifestyle changes, reduce the risk of diabetes in high-risk older people. Statistics show a 71% decrease in diabetes among people 60 and older

• Moderate exercise is effective at reducing stress and sleep problems in older women caring for a family member with dementia

• Older people who exercise moderately are able to fall asleep quickly, sleep for longer and get a better quality of sleep

• Research also found that exercise can improve balance and therefore reduces falls amongst older people by 33%

• Walking and strength-building exercises by people with knee osteoarthritis help reduce pain and maintain function and quality of life

• Physical activity allows us to maintain independence and management of our bodily functions.

• Physical activity has a significant impact on the onset and progression of frailty, decline in muscle power and cardiorespiratory functions

• One of the main factors of reduced mobility is a higher risk of falls within adults over 65. Try and aim to be physically active every day to reduce this risk

• If you are physically fit and have a fall, you are more likely to recover more quickly than someone who doesn't take regular exercise

‘Physical activity’ is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure. Statistics show that carrying out physical activity at an older age improves our cognitive abilities; as we know, they slow down with age.

We also need to recognise that frailer adults or those who have a very low physical or cognitive function, perhaps because of chronic disease such as arthritis or dementia, cannot carry out much exercise. Encouragement should be given towards a lighter programme to suit individual needs. Simple physical activities have a beneficial impact on older adults with depression, with a 20-30% reduction in further decline risk.


Swarthmore programme for moving and grooving:

1100     Thursday 1st April          Gardening AM, walk through the garden

1145     Saturday 3rd April        Exercise with Sarra using the resistance  bands

1430     Monday 5th April         Magic of the musicals with Kiddley-divey on                                                     DVD. Singalong and dance to music from Musicals                                                     and Songs about flowers, incorporating chair-based                                                     exercises

1130      Tuesday 6th April        Armchair moving and grooving – music of your choice                                                      through Alexa

1145     Saturday 10th April       Gentle stretches with Sarra

1430    Monday 12th April         Toss the music ball, reminisce whilst keeping fit

1130     Tuesday 13th April         Move away from stress. Exercises incorporating our  stress balls and           games


1145     Saturday 17th April        Exercise with Sarra, using resistance bands

1430     Sunday 18th April          Tea dance afternoon with armchair grooves

1130      Tuesday 20th April         Parachute games using different sized balls

1130      Thursday 22nd April     Balloon volleyball and bean bag high jump

1130      Tuesday 27th April         Armchair moving and grooving

1430                                              Gardening and walk around the garden

1430     Monday 26th April         Walk to the local park, weather permitting

1130     Tuesday 27th April         Fit & Fun using mini cycles whilst watching country                                                              scenes on YouTube

1430     Thursday 29th April     Gaming Olympics using Wii Fun – residents and staff                                                      teamwork.




Quiz

Here is a 1960's Quiz down memory lane. See how many questions you can answer – no cheating!!!! It will get your memory working.


1. What was the name of the famous English four-piece band that came out of Liverpool?

2. What was the name of the first James Bond movie released in 1962 starring Sean Connery & Ursula Andrews?

3. In 1960, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded 9.5 on the Richter scale was where?

4. In which year did the show "Sesame Street" first air on television?

5. The first woman in space came from which country?

6. Which classic science fiction show began in 1966?

7. Who did John F Kennedy defeat in 1960 to win the presidential election?

8. In the late 1960s, the US Airforce released a report concluding there were no such things as UFOs or Extra Terrestrials. What was the name of the report?

9. What popular long-running soap opera still running on TV debuted in 1965?

10. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jnr gave a memorable speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. What was the name of that famous speech?

11. In 1960, four black college students sat in protest after being refused service at the lunch counter in which store in Greensboro North Carolina?

12. Who was the first man to walk on the moon in 1969?

13. In 1967 Dr Christian Barnard performed the first transplant of what human organ in South Africa?

14. Who famously sang happy birthday to John F Kennedy in 1962 (actually she sang Happy Birthday Mr President)?

15. Which famous boxer in 1964 changed his name from Cassius Clay to ….?

16. In 1962 three inmates escaped from which prison that was supposedly an inescapable prison near San Francisco?

17. Who was Harold Holt, and what happened to him?

18. Which president in the USA started the space race with the Soviet Union?




Answers 1. The Beatles 2. Dr No 3. South America (Valdivia Earthquake) it caused global tsunamis & destruction 4. 1969 5. The Soviet Union. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova spent almost 3 days in the Vostok 6 space capsule, orbiting Earth 48 times 6. Star Trek 7. Richard Nixon 8. Project Blue Book 9. Days of our lives 10. I Have A Dream 11. Woolworths 12. Neil Armstrong 13. Heart 14. Marilyn Monroe 15. Muhammad Ali 16. Alcatraz 17. The Australian Prime minister, who died in 1967 after going for a swim in the ocean in Portsea, Victoria. He disappeared, feared drowned his body was never recovered. 18. John F Kennedy

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