Activities to do at home

Suggestions of ways to keep calm, healthy and entertained at home.

Activities to download

Whether you are looking for online resources or creative ways of coping with your caring role, we have compiled some suggestions below. You can download each document by clicking the title.

Get learning at home – Have a browse through a few websites that allow you to learn totally new subjects or revisit old knowledge to keep your brain ticking.

Home exercise links – Exercises from free, reliable sources that help you keep fit without leaving the house!

How to make a memory box – Learn more about this creative way of allowing people with memory loss to rediscover forgotten events and see memorable objects and photographs on a regular basis.

Suggestions and ways to reduce stress – Based around five suggestions for wellbeing recommended by the NHS, start to manage stress with these simple tips.

Suggestions to do online – Watch and enjoy some entertaining content online!

Things to do at home to keep calm and well – Relaxing crafts and activities to do that help you to make the most of whatever free time you may have.

Understanding restlessness and agitation in people with dementia – Sometimes it can be hard to know why someone with dementia is uncomfortable but this document aims to help you improve the situation.

Online Carers in Hertfordshire Workshops

We have created some free, online workshops and courses for you to view online wherever you are.

MolyFit Exercise

This series of videos focuses on movement, stretch and strengthening techniques with John Molyneux of MolyFit.

An Introduction to Better Sleep

Image of the Introduction to Better Sleep thumbnailThis is run over four parts and provides an introduction about what sleep is, why we need it, and what factors contribute to a good night’s sleep. It also includes an introduction to guided breathing exercises and relaxation. The learning time is around 30 minutes. The videos for the workshops are on our YouTube Channel and you can access them via this link – An Introduction to Better Sleep Workshop.

Resilience Workshop

This is an online version of our popular resilience workshop and it is provided in six parts. Through the series, you can learn techniques to manage the everyday stresses of being a carer and get tips about building support networks and dealing with relationship changes. The learning time is about one hour. You can access the videos here – Resilience Workshop for Unpaid Carers.

Dealing with Stress

Everyone lives with stress at some stage – and sometimes this can become overwhelming for a carer. This online workshop, a single video which lasts about half an hour, will talk through what the symptoms of stress are and suggest different ways of managing it. The video is available here – Dealing With Stress Online Workshop.

Managing Medication

This is a short workshop looking at some of the common questions and issues that people ask about medication being taken by the person they are caring for. Find out about side effects, storage, organisation and much more using an exercise that is taken from our Caring with Confidence course. The video is available on YouTube here – Managing Medication Online Workshop.

Relaxation Exercises

These two short relaxation exercises are from Caring with Confidence, which is a course designed to help with your caring role. For these exercises, it is best if you can listen to the audio in a fairly quiet place, without distractions. Don’t have anything in your hands, sit comfortably in a chair with your spine fairly straight, both feet on the floor and with your hands relaxed in your lap. And be aware that there are some silences in the audio.
Sit back and relax!

Focused breathing:

Positive visualisation:

HPFT Webinars

The Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) have online webinars available for free. They cover a variety of topics, including: stress, sleep and relaxation, worry and anxiety, mindfulness, and bereavement. These webinars provide educational and practical help to support you to learn relevant Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques to make positive change in your life. You can find them on the HPFT website at this link.