Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training

finger exercises

[Brain Activation] Finger Exercises #DementiaPrevention #Dementia #Elderly

You may have heard that doing finger exercises can activate the brain and may help prevent dementia.

It’s said that many nerves are concentrated in the fingertips.

Because of this, moving the hands and fingers can stimulate the brain.

Another appeal of finger exercises is that anyone who can move their hands can do them easily, anytime and anywhere.

Try bending your fingers one by one while counting, or make a fist and an open hand with each hand and alternate pushing them forward.

Since these can be done while seated, they can also encourage interaction with those around you and help promote communication.

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Nakajima Junko

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Listening hand game

A perfect upbeat listening-and-hand-play activity for spring #EurhythmicsTeaching #HandPlay #Shorts #EurhythmicsRoom

There are expressive ways of describing things like flowers and insects, right? For example, for dandelion fluff you might say “fluffy,” and for butterflies you might say “fluttering.” Try using words like these, and when a prompt is given, add hand movements as you answer.

It can be a word game as well as a hand-play activity.

You could also play music and do it to the rhythm.

Like eurhythmics, it’s said to promote mental and physical well-being and even offer brain-training benefits.

If you choose seasonally themed prompts, it may help older adults sense the seasons and the passage of time.

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Paraphrase Rock-Paper-Scissors

Hand-play brain training: Paraphrase Rock-Paper-Scissors #short #funny #braintraining #fun #recreation

When you think of rock-paper-scissors, you think of rock, scissors, and paper.

But let’s try some exercises by using different expressions based on the hand shapes.

For example, you can call rock a punch or a stone.

You can also use numbers, like 5 for paper and 2 for scissors.

Rewording it can serve as brain training, and speaking the words can also help improve oral function.

It would be fun for everyone to rename the rock-paper-scissors hands and either make the same hand movements together or actually play while saying the new words.

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Good evening

Finger-play brain training: Good eve-ning. #short #funny #braintraining #fun #recreation

Let’s make shapes with our hands and fingers to match the words.

For example, for “konbanwa,” move your hands and fingers so that “kon” is a fox, “ban” is a gun, and “wa” is a ring.

Although the ending is written as “ha” in Japanese, it’s okay to change the character to match the pronunciation.

Start at a slow pace, and once you get used to it, try saying the words faster.

You can also raise the difficulty by changing the order to “kon,” “ban,” and “wa.” Even if it gets harder or older adults make mistakes, it’s important to keep a relaxed, supportive atmosphere.

Try moving your hands and fingers with various words.

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The Apple Song

Care Recreation Plaza.book Vol.15 ~ Singing “Ringo no Uta” in Sign Language (Increased Difficulty) ~

Let’s move our hands in sign language to the lyrics of “Ringo no Uta” (“The Apple Song”).

“Ringo no Uta” is one of the emblematic songs of the Showa era, and many older adults have probably heard it at least once.

Because the signs follow the lyrics, you’ll need to learn different hand movements.

Until you get used to the motions, it might be good to practice the signs at a slow tempo.

Of course, enjoying yourself is important too, so don’t be overly concerned about making mistakes in your signing.

Besides “Ringo no Uta,” try using other songs that are familiar to older adults.

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