[For Seniors] Hand and finger play roundup: Finger exercises that lead to brain training
For older adults, moving their hands and fingers is very important because it helps stimulate brain activity.
That’s why many senior care facilities incorporate hand and finger play as a way to help prevent dementia.
Among these activities, brain-training style hand and finger games may seem difficult at first, but they allow participants to talk and think together—saying things like “I did it!” or “How do you do this part?”—so they can enjoy the activity while engaging in communication.
There are exercises that involve different movements with the left and right hands, or moving the fingers while singing.
Please choose and adapt activities according to each older adult’s physical and mental condition.
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- [For Seniors] Liven Things Up With Different Left-Right Movements! Game and Exercise Ideas
- [For Seniors] Recommended Easy Strength Training
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[For Seniors] Hand and Finger Play Collection: Finger Exercises That Lead to Brain Training (11–20)
Inchworm Exercise
How about enjoying the “Inchworm Exercise” along with a children’s song? For this activity, bring the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together, then move them like an inchworm.
When you finish the first verse of the song, try changing the direction you’re ‘traveling.’ You won’t actually be moving, but if you release from the thumbs it looks like you’re going upward, and if you move from the index fingers it looks like you’re heading downward.
A gentle-paced children’s song like “The Tortoise and the Hare” pairs well with this exercise.
Scissors switch exercise
Let’s try stimulating the brain with hand and finger play.
In this exercise, you make different “scissors” shapes with your left and right hands and then switch the finger positions back and forth.
Start slowly with “index and middle fingers” and “thumb and index finger,” but it’s surprisingly tricky.
Your fingers end up in shapes you didn’t intend, and you can’t help but laugh.
Once you get used to it, speeding up the tempo or doing it to music makes it even better.
It’s a fun way for everyone to get lively brain training together.
tea caddy
By incorporating alternating hand movements, this “tea jar” finger exercise also works as brain training.
Make a fist with your left hand and tap up and down in sequence.
Match the rhythm of the song, and repeat the same motion with your right hand.
As a variation, try tapping from bottom to top.
Imagining the lid of a tea jar as you move your hands will make the exercise more enjoyable.
When the song ends, try to finish with your hands precisely in the correct position.
Alternating finger-counting exercise
I’d like to introduce a finger-folding exercise that’s perfect for when you want to move your fingertips thoroughly or do some brain training.
First, place both hands open on the table.
Then, start folding your fingers one by one in order from either the left or the right.
You can do this while sitting, even in a small space.
Once you get used to it, try adding variations, such as making different movements with each hand alternately.
Start at your own pace without rushing.
And if you make a mistake, don’t worry—just keep going.
They say that making mistakes is actually effective for activating the brain.
Finger-counting exercise with opposite hands (left and right reversed)
By deliberately taking on complex movements, you can give your brain more stimulation.
What I’d like you to try is the “opposite finger-counting exercise” with the left and right hands.
This exercise has three main actions.
First, count out loud from 1 to 10.
When you reach 10, count back down toward 1.
Meanwhile, use your right hand to count by raising fingers, and your left hand to count by folding fingers.
It may sound confusing just reading about it, but please give it a try.
Finger training with clothespins
This activity uses clothespins to build fingertip strength and pinching motions.
You stick a large illustration onto cardboard and then attach clothespins to the illustration as if they were hair.
It’s fun because children can move their fingers while thinking about what kind of hairstyle to create.
When connecting clothespins to each other rather than just attaching them to the illustration, they need to carefully consider where to clip them, which also engages the brain.
While clothespins are commonly operated with the thumb and index finger, intentionally trying different fingers can help train finger strength more evenly.
[For Seniors] Collection of Hand and Finger Games: Finger Exercises That Lead to Brain Training (21–30)
tea picking
When early summer approaches, the song that makes you want to hum along is surely “Chatsumi” (Tea Picking).
It was published in 1912 as part of the Standard Elementary School Songs for the Third Grade.
In 2007, it was also selected for the “100 Best Japanese Songs.” Listening to this tune brings to mind the beautiful season of fresh greenery and women hard at work picking tea leaves.
Many older adults may also remember playing it as a hand game when they were children.
This time, you’ll need to do three actions while singing: clapping your hands and stepping your feet.
Let’s enjoy it with a childlike sense of fun.
