Recreation Activities Effective for Long-Term Care Prevention for Seniors
This article introduces recommended recreational activities for preventing the need for long-term care.
We’ve gathered a wide range of options, including exercises and games that move the hands and feet, as well as quizzes that engage the mind.
Doing recreational activities is effective for physical rehabilitation and dementia prevention.
You can also expect benefits like increased appetite and improved sleep quality as your activity level rises.
It’s also a great opportunity to interact with other older adults who are participating.
Please use this article as a reference and enjoyably put it to use for care prevention.
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[For Older Adults] Recreational Activities Effective for Preventing the Need for Care (141–150)
Exciting towel activity
This is a game that tests how quickly you can make decisions by seeing the outcome of rock-paper-scissors and taking immediate action.
Towels are placed on the table: the winner of rock-paper-scissors quickly pulls the towel, while the loser immediately presses down on it.
If the towel isn’t pulled out, the game continues, and this sequence repeats until someone successfully pulls the towel free.
To act quickly in line with the rock-paper-scissors result, focus and on-the-spot judgment seem to be crucial.
Autumn Song Calisthenics
Autumn is the season when it starts to feel chilly, isn’t it? It’s also a time when older adults may feel reluctant to move their bodies.
So how about trying a singing exercise with an autumn theme? If it’s a seated singing exercise, even seniors who find standing difficult can participate.
Autumn songs include pieces like “Tsuki” (The Moon) and “Donguri Korokoro” (Acorns Rolling).
By singing them during exercise, older adults can also get a sense of the season’s atmosphere.
In addition, exercising while singing can help activate the brain and relieve stress.
If you’d like, please use this as a reference and give it a try.
Funny Gesture Exercises
A gesture game where you don’t speak, but watch movements and guess the answer.
Because it’s often played on TV shows and at parties, many older adults may already be familiar with it.
In gesture games, you watch the movements, imagine what they mean, and answer.
Imagining is said to help activate the brain.
What’s more, having older adults perform the prompted actions themselves boosts the brain-training effect.
Since you’re getting older adults to move, it’s like gesture exercise.
Expanding prompts from “eating a mandarin” to “peeling and eating a mandarin” also stimulates the imagination.
Adjust the difficulty to suit the older adults.
The more movements you add, the more smiles you’re likely to see.
Funny Clapping Exercise
Clapping exercises where everyone follows the model in the same way can stimulate the brain by requiring you to judge movements from the example.
As you proceed with clapping in various rhythms, people are likely to become more aware of the speed of their movements and how much force they use.
It’s also recommended to speed up the clapping and then stop suddenly—you might even get some laughs when seeing whether everyone can truly freeze their movement at that moment.
In addition to focusing on the model and controlling speed and force, patting the body can also help promote blood circulation.
Paper Cup Pulling Game
It’s a reflex-testing game where you hold a string with a paper cup attached and, the instant the music stops, quickly pull the paper cup toward yourself.
There’s someone positioned near the paper cup to hold it down—try to move the cup faster than they can react.
Since you need to transfer the force from the string to the cup to reel it in, how you hold the string and how you pull it are key points.
You might also have fun making it a competitive format where players take turns being the holder and the puller.