Recreation Activities Effective for Long-Term Care Prevention for Seniors

Inchworm Brain Training Exercise

Inchworm Brain-Training Exercises: Today’s Brain Workout #154 – Preventive Care and Dementia Prevention

Let’s stimulate your brain with a finger play that mimics an inchworm’s movement.

Inchworms move by stretching and contracting their bodies, right? We’ll recreate that motion with your fingers as a hand game.

Touch the tips of your index finger and thumb together on both hands.

From there, bend one thumb and touch it to the index finger of the other hand.

Then alternate by bending an index finger to touch the thumb on the other hand, and keep repeating this pattern.

The motion looks like an inchworm, doesn’t it? At first, it can be hard to make each finger meet the opposite one smoothly, but working to make the connections is said to help activate your brain.

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Nakajima Junko

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An exercise that can prevent aspiration and choking just by reading aloud: the Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra exercise

Must-see! The “Patakara Exercise”: A routine that can prevent aspiration and choking just by reading aloud

Patakara exercises are exercises that stimulate oral functions through pronunciation.

This time, we’ll introduce a method that uses reading aloud.

All you need to do is read the sentences written on a whiteboard out loud, so you can proceed at your own pace.

Another advantage is that if you jot the sentences down, you can do the exercises anywhere, including at home.

Benefits include improving chewing strength to aid digestion, enhancing swallowing ability to prevent accidental aspiration and the pneumonia it can cause, and increasing saliva production, which helps sterilize and disinfect the mouth.

Doing the exercises before meals can make them even more effective.

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kojifumi

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Brain training with Rock-Paper-Scissors on Mito Komon

[Dementia Prevention • Hand Exercises] Brain Training with Rock-Paper-Scissors to the Tune of Mito Kōmon!

Many older adults have probably watched the drama Mito Kōmon at least once, don’t you think? It’s about Mito Kōmon traveling around Japan, and the show’s theme song is famous too.

Using the theme song “Aa Jinsei ni Namida Ari,” let’s do a finger-play activity with the rock-paper-scissors motions.

Clap your hands, make a fist (rock) with one hand and pull it toward yourself, while making a hand (paper) with the other and extend it forward.

Another pattern is: clap your hands, make a fist (rock) with one hand and extend it forward, then use scissors to pull it back.

It might be easier for older adults to participate if it’s a song they already know.

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Nakajima Junko

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Brain-training hand game drawing different shapes with each hand

[If you can do it, that’s amazing] Please put out your right hand.

In everyday life, we rarely make different movements with our left and right sides.

So when we do, the unfamiliar motions stimulate the brain and help activate it.

This time, try making a right triangle with the fingers of your right hand, and move the fingers of your left hand up and down.

It’s a simple motion, but surprisingly challenging.

Your right and left fingers might end up doing the same thing.

Still, by thinking through the movements, you activate your brain.

When you’re doing something you’re used to, the brain supposedly doesn’t get activated.

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Nakajima Junko

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A game where you create prefecture names using 16 katakana characters

[Elderly Recreation] Rec Master Series Part 16: 'Find the Prefecture'

Let me introduce a fun thinking game where you create Japanese prefecture names using 16 katakana characters.

Write one katakana character per square on a sheet, preparing a paper with 16 characters.

Then, combine the katakana to see how many prefecture names you can form and compete for the highest count.

It’s likely to get lively if you split into teams, set a time limit at each table, and take on the challenge.

It’s also a fun game that can help prevent cognitive decline and stimulate communication, so give it a try.

You might discover something new!

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mayumi

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Animal Battle

Let's make and play a card game

Let’s make our own original cards and have some fun! First, prepare six cards.

If you’re repurposing unused cards, we recommend putting a card and a piece of white paper into a sleeve to create one.

After choosing a theme you like—such as animals or vehicles—write the card’s name, a number showing its power from 0 to 6, and draw an illustration on each card.

Two players battle with three cards each.

Both players place a card face down, reveal them at the same time, and the card with the higher power wins.

You play three battles, and the first to win two is the overall winner.

It sounds fun from the very process of making your original cards.

The rules are simple, and you can play with just a few cards, so give it a try!

Mackerel and Spanish mackerel: a game where you only take the cards with the same kanji

Card battling game, two types, elderly people, recreation, day service, rec activities, caregiving, indoor game, party, game

If you want to train your visual discrimination, try this! Here’s a game where you only grab cards with the same kanji.

First, write two similar-looking kanji—such as 鯖 and 鰆—on cards, making sure each one appears the same number of times.

When the game begins, one person quickly gathers all the mackerel (saba) cards, while the other quickly gathers all the Spanish mackerel (sawara) cards.

The player who gathers all of their cards first wins.

Because you have to instantly tell apart similar shapes, it naturally boosts fine visual recognition, and it also seems to improve concentration and decision-making.

It’s fun to include a variety of kanji, symbols, or pictures, too.

Give it a try for inspiration!