While living in a senior community is a positive experience for most people, it’s normal to worry about our parents. You might wonder if they’re going to have people to talk to and things to do, and if they’re going to feel their best overall while living in an assisted living community.
While a good assisted living community will promote overall wellness through health-focused programs, socialization, and recreation, it’s also important for residents to enjoy time to themselves – and they can still work on their wellness during this personal time. A convenient way to do this is on a tablet or smartphone.
There are many apps out there now that are especially helpful for seniors – and that can be used to improve physical and mental health and cognition, as well as for entertainment and staying connected with the people in their lives.
Apps for Health
GoodRx
GoodRx is the #1 most downloaded medical app on the iTunes and Google Play app stores – and for good reason. With GoodRx, users can search for the lowest price for prescriptions in their area, compare prices, get notified with the latest savings alerts on their prescriptions, and get access to coupons that can save them even more money.
Available for both iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free
MyPlate Calorie Counter
MyPlate, from Livestrong, is one of the most highly rated nutrition apps. Whether someone’s trying to lose weight, improve their health, or simply live the healthiest life possible, MyPlate can help by tracking calories, cholesterol, sugar, and more. It also provides an in-depth analysis of daily eating habits.
Available for both iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free + in-app purchases
Aqualert
Staying hydrated is especially important for seniors, and Aqualert makes it easy by allowing users to track their daily water intake. The app also gives reminders via notification when it’s time to drink more water.
Available for both iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free
Elevate
Elevate is an app designed to help users keep their minds sharp. The app offers 40+ games that are designed to promote cognitive skills and improve memory, as well as skills like math, reading comprehension, writing, and speaking. As you train, Elevate will adjust to your skills and the games will change accordingly. There is both a free version and a Pro version available. The Pro version allows users to play 5 daily games, instead of 3. It also measures performance across all the skill groups to compare with others who use the app. Not sure if the pro version is worth it? The free version comes with a 7-day trial.
Available for both iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free or $4.99/month (or $39.99/year) for the Pro version.
Sanvello
Sanvello is one of the most popular apps for stress relief. It includes an extensive library of meditations, guided journeys, health tracking and cognitive behavioral tools. What can Senvello do for its users? Each person can choose their own personal goals, whether they want to reduce anxiety, increase their self-confidence, feel happier, or all of the above. You can also connect with peers who are going through the same things, and, depending on what area the user lives in, they can also access mental health counseling directly through the app.
Available for both iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free or $8.99/month for Premium or $50/month for Premium Plus, which offers users access to their own personal stress relief and mental health coach.
Apps for Socialization
Facebook Messenger
There’s a good chance you and your parent are already on Facebook, so it makes sense to use the built-in Messenger app to keep in touch. Facebook Messenger allows for text-based messages, video calls, voice over internet calls, and sharing images, videos, or gifs.
Available for iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free
There are also several other free video chat apps available, including Zoom, Skype, Google Duo, and WhatsApp.
Apps for Entertainment
Words with Friends 2
The sequel to the extremely popular original, Words with Friends 2 is not only a fun challenge, but a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. In this online multiplayer game, you challenge other players to a word game based on the classic board game Scrabble. Each player can take their turn whenever they have time, so games can be as long or as short as they want.
Available for iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free + in-app purchases
Kindle and Audible
The Kindle and Audible apps, both from Amazon, give readers more choices and more freedom than ever. With Kindle, users can choose from millions of books. These e-books can be read on any smartphone, tablet or Kindle e-reader. And users don’t even have to pay for books – with a library membership, users can check out and read e-books without leaving home.
Audible offers a similar service – but its specialty is audio books. Users can choose any of the many audiobooks for sale in the Audible store, or check one out from the local library’s digital audiobook collection. Users can also listen to podcasts with the Audible app.
Kindle is available for iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free + in-app purchases
Audible is available for iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free + in-app purchases
Spotify
Spotify is the most popular music streaming platform in the world. Users can listen to music, listen to ‘stations’ based on favorite artists, listen to podcasts, and create and share playlists. The free plan is limited – users can’t listen to specific songs, only playlists or stations, and they can only skip a set number of songs per hour – but the premium version (which is also ad-free) is only $9.99/month.
Available for iPhone/iPad and Android devices
Cost: free or $9.99/month for the premium service.
These apps can make life for seniors a little easier and a little more fun. Even if your parents are resistant to new technology, taking the time to help them figure out some of these apps might make a huge difference in their daily lives while living in a senior community. Smartphone and tablet apps can be helpful when it comes to keeping seniors healthy, social, and engaged. It’s also a great way to make sure you’re able to keep in touch regularly.
Getting Older Doesn’t Mean Quality of Life Has to Suffer
There comes a time when independent living becomes a challenge – either for seniors, their families – or both. However, quality of life does not need to suffer when the process of aging begins to limit physical and mental capacities.
At Eagle Flats Village, we offer independent living with assistance tailored to individual needs. As members of our welcoming community, residents can enjoy life with each other through daily meals, events, and recreational and social opportunities – but they can retreat to the comfort and privacy of their own apartment whenever they want. Moving into an assisted living community should be as worry-free as possible for seniors and their loved ones. That’s why we work to make it as easy as possible for you and your family.
Interested in visiting our community? Schedule a tour online today.
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