[For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body

Exercise Song Collection: Masterpieces of the Showa Era

Seated rhythm and singing exercises! Let’s exercise to classic hits from the Showa era!

This is an exercise done while seated, moving your body slowly yet deliberately to various classic Showa-era songs.

For “March of 365 Steps,” use big hand movements and marching steps; for “North Country Spring,” switch to finger exercises—change the movements with each song.

As the songs change, the size of the movements will also change, so it’s important to stay mindful of which part of the body to focus on.

While enjoying the rhythm of the music, the most important thing is to concentrate on moving each specific part of your body.

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kappamaki

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Music Therapy: Fun with Rhythm

Music Therapy: Fun with Rhythm

Recreation that uses music is popular with many people.

This time, we’ll introduce ideas for rhythm-based music therapy.

When you move your body to a rhythm, it becomes a dual task: you have to both “listen” to the rhythm and “move” in time with it, processing these two actions simultaneously.

This creates a situation where the brain works to its fullest.

Above all, moving together to music tends to create excitement and a sense of unity, making it a fun activity for everyone.

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kojifumi

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Hometown: A song-and-exercise routine that livens things up with three movements

Sing-and-Move Exercise That Gets Everyone Excited with Just '3' Movements (2): Children's Song 'Furusato'

Move your hands to the melody of the children’s song “Furusato,” and stimulate your brain not only through the hand movements but also by visualizing your hometown.

The flow is two claps followed by forming a number with your hands, thinking ahead to the next number while keeping the rhythm of the song in mind.

After making a 5 with both hands, the count returns to 1, so this is where you should focus carefully and aim for smoother movements.

Once you get used to it, we also recommend increasing the speed to further improve concentration.

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kappamaki

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Rhythmic gymnastics with a ball

Perfect for the coming season! Full-body warming rhythmic exercises using a ball [Senior Exercise]

Let’s use a ball to move the whole body and warm up.

It’s also great as an exercise for the cold season.

Sit on a chair, bounce the ball on your knees, and open your arms while holding the ball.

Let’s also add a brain-training element.

Bounce it on your knees, then raise one hand high holding the ball, and from there, grasp the ball with both hands at chest height.

Some people may find it hard to think and move the ball at the same time, but it’s said that feeling challenged helps activate the brain.

Try to gently push yourself—like making the movements larger or doing more dynamic ball exercises—within a comfortable range.

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Nakajima Junko

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Dual-task exercises

Let's try the 'Clear Your Head' dual-task exercise!

Performing two actions at the same time is called a “dual task.” For example, cooking while watching TV or taking notes while talking on the phone.

When you perform two actions simultaneously, various areas of the brain become activated to organize the information needed for each action.

This time, we will introduce exercises that intentionally incorporate dual tasks by combining multiple movements.

By stimulating the brain, these exercises may help prevent cognitive decline.

They can be done either standing or sitting, making them a great option for recreational activities in senior care facilities.

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kojifumi

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