[For Seniors] Brain Training Recommended for Dementia Prevention
In this article, we introduce brain-training activities that can help prevent dementia in older adults.
As we age, memory is something everyone worries about.
For those concerned, we recommend simple, easy-to-do brain training designed for seniors.
Doing brain training activates the brain and can contribute to overall mental and physical well-being.
There are quiz formats, riddles, four-character idioms, and even brain-training activities you can do while moving your body.
Find the brain training that suits you, and enjoy doing it.
If you’re a caregiving professional looking for brain-training ideas, be sure to check these out.
- [For Seniors] Brain Training! Recall Quiz Collection!
- [For Seniors] Challenging but Exciting! Kanji Quiz
- [For Seniors] Find daily brain training. Today’s recommended brain workout.
- [For Seniors] Lively Wordplay Game: Fun Recreation for Elderly Care
- [For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Prefecture Quiz
- Recommended for seniors. Brain training with an odd-one-out quiz.
- [For Seniors] Popular Brain Training and Recreational Quizzes
- [For Seniors] Fun and Lively! Recommended Quiz Questions
- [For Seniors] Fun Riddles That Stimulate the Brain
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Brain Training! Finger Exercises That Help Prevent Dementia
- [For Seniors] A Brain-Training, Crowd-Pleasing Word Search Game
- [Brain Training] Lively Word Quiz for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
[For Seniors] Prevent Dementia! Recommended Brain Training (111–120)
A quiz to find the odd-one-out kanji
It’s a game where you look for the odd-one-out kanji whose shape is slightly different from the others that look the same on the board.
Tracing the lined-up characters with your eyes and spotting what feels off helps stimulate the brain.
The more characters there are, the longer it takes to find the odd one out, so it’s recommended to gradually increase the number to really get your brain working.
It could also be fun to aim for missed odd ones by using patterns like kanji with many strokes or subtle differences that are easy to overlook.
Animal sound brain training
It’s a game where you read the written name of an animal, think about which sound that animal makes, and answer.
It tests your ability to connect memories—how quickly you can imagine the sound from the animal’s name.
Start by checking which animal makes which sound, then move on to the letter chart.
Because you can reach the answer by thinking carefully, it’s also important to be mindful of speed.
The process of thinking from the written word and then saying it aloud helps activate the brain.
Animal Memory Rec
People aged 75 and over are now required to take a Cognitive Function Test to renew their driver’s license.
Even those who don’t have much trouble remembering things can feel a bit nervous when they know they’re going to be tested.
How about livening things up with a memory-training game similar to that test? Here’s a simple way to run it: first, show 8–10 animal illustrations—or just the words if you don’t have pictures—have the participant memorize them, then ask them to write them on a whiteboard.
Adjust the difficulty by changing the number of animals or the memorization time.
If you have a whiteboard, it should be fun even outdoors.
A game where you flip over plastic bottle caps placed in an egg carton
Using just a single disposable chopstick, flip the plastic bottle caps inside an egg carton.
If you’re deft, it can even look like you’re cooking takoyaki.
The trick is actually all about where you insert the chopstick and how you move it.
By rubbing the chopstick against the cap, the pressure makes the bottle cap spin around.
Because you’re using a tool and performing fine, precise movements, the stimulation travels from the hand to the brain, so you can also expect brain-training benefits.
If you time it, it becomes competitive, making it fun both solo and in small groups.
Brain training that sharpens your reflexes
It’s a game that trains your reflexes by imitating claps so that your timing matches the model person’s clapping as closely as possible.
While getting a firm grasp of the clapping rhythm is key to enjoying the game, focusing too much on the rhythm can make you fall for tricks.
The sequence of observing the model’s hands and reflecting that in your own movements tests both your concentration and reflexes.
Adding changes in rhythm or variations in clapping midway through is also recommended, as it further directs your attention to the model’s hands.
Combined Kanji Quiz
The phrase “kanji notebook” probably sounds very nostalgic to many seniors.
Even kanji like “right” and “up,” which we don’t think twice about now, once felt difficult, and we practiced writing them diligently.
With that in mind, here’s a brain-training activity about kanji: the “Combined Kanji Quiz.” For example, what kanji is made from the three parts: the grass radical, ヒ, and イ? The answer is 花 (flower).
Even simple kanji can become unrecognizable when their parts are separated like this.
It’s a fun brain-teasing quiz that’s great for your free time.
palindrome
Do you know what a palindrome is? A palindrome is a sentence that reads the same forward and backward.
For example, “たいやきやいた” reads the same backward.
Let’s all try coming up with palindromes like this.
You can also prepare a set of characters in advance and rearrange them.
In that case, it may be easier to reveal the central part and then fit the characters around it.
There are YouTube videos that pose such challenges, so check them out for reference.
