[For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
Have fun moving your body together while giving your brain a workout, too! If you’re looking for games that train balance, indoor recreation is highly recommended.
We’ll introduce ideas you can fully enjoy even while seated, such as the Chopstick Pick-Up Game, the Balance UFO Game, and Ping-Pong Ball Transfer.
In particular, the actions of carefully pulling out chopsticks and placing items on a disc naturally build concentration and a sense of balance.
These ideas are perfect for seniors to enjoy together, so why not give them a try?
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- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Seated Activities You Can Do
- [For Seniors] Recommended Rhythm Play and Exercises
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
Ball games (11–20)
Easy! Beach Ball Recreation
Beach balls are light, easy to throw, and designed with safety in mind.
This time, we’ll introduce some recreational activities using a beach ball.
First, have older adults sit on chairs facing each other.
Place the beach ball on their outstretched legs and pass it to the next person in a relay style.
You could make it a team competition and prepare prizes for the winners to boost excitement.
Another lively option is beach ball soccer target toss: players kick the ball, and whoever gets it into the container first wins.
Since it involves a lot of leg movement, it helps strengthen older adults’ muscles and is also ideal for rehabilitation.
Ball games (21–30)
Recreation that stimulates cognitive function using a ball
Recreation using balls is recommended for preventing dementia because it activates both the mind and body.
This time, we’ll focus on ball activities that are especially effective for dementia.
Have participants sit in a circle and pass the ball to the person next to them.
Change the direction—clockwise or counterclockwise—and adjust according to the size of the ball.
By doing this, older adults have to think as they play, which helps train their mental and physical functions.
Switching to the opposite direction also provides beneficial stimulation to the brain.
Seated Throwing/Rolling Activities (1–10)
Toss it with a towelNEW!
@amaririsu_care Towel activity! A simple rec using a towel and colored balls. Communicate with your partner, sync your timing, and use your whole body to catch!TranslationtranslationSmileFukuoka PrefectureKitakyushu CityYahatanishi Ward#WelfareCaregivingNursingElderlyTranslationRecreation
♬ Cubism – Ovall
A simple game that uses an ordinary towel to launch balls far away.
Place a colored ball on a towel fixed to the edge of a table and fling the ball.
The key is to launch it so it reaches your partner on the other side.
The partner catches the incoming balls and puts them into a basket.
The goal is to see how many balls you can launch.
The force needed to send the ball toward a target and the wrist action to move the towel can also serve as training.
Once you get used to the game, increasing the distance between the tables may make it even more exciting.
bowlingNEW!
Many older adults have probably played bowling at least once, right? It feels great when the ball you roll knocks down all the pins.
You can roll the ball while seated, so it’s an activity that people who have difficulty standing can enjoy.
Another nice thing about bowling is that you can play competitively in teams or on your own.
It would likely be a hit as an activity at a care facility event.
Bowling sets with balls and pins are sold at 100-yen shops, so preparation is easy.
Bound Bowling
Speaking of bowling, it’s one of those easy indoor recreational activities.
It’s also a classic game that kids and adults alike can enjoy.
But in this version, instead of rolling the bowling ball, you bounce it to hit pins placed at different heights.
You try to knock down pins on chairs or tables by bouncing the ball; of course, the higher the pins are, the harder they are to hit, so they’re worth more points.
It’s a score-based game called Bounce Bowling, and adding pins with negative points makes it even more exciting!
LINE Golf
LINE Golf is a team-based recreational game.
A row of holed putting cups is lined up straight down the middle.
From your perspective, the nearest cups are your team’s color, beyond them are white cups, and beyond those are the opposing team’s color.
Sinking a ball into your team’s cup earns 1 point, and into a white cup earns 2 points.
But if you overshoot and sink it into the opposing team’s cup, they get the points.
Aim for the high-scoring white cups, but be careful not to end up scoring for the other team!
Waa-pon!
Wa-pon: a game you can play with things you have at home, like newspaper and clothespins.
Roll a sheet of newspaper into a tube, connect the ends, and make ring-toss-style rings.
Scatter clothespins randomly on the floor.
Prepare about three colors of clothespins and assign different point values to each color.
While seated in a chair, toss the newspaper rings; if a clothespin lands firmly inside the ring, you earn the points for that clothespin.
If it isn’t fully inside the ring, you don’t score.
Decide in advance how many throws each player gets and compete on total points.