[For Seniors] Enjoyable Brain Training! Finger Exercises That Help Prevent Dementia
Moving the fingers helps activate the brain, so it’s recommended as a recreational activity for older adults.
Finger exercises can be done while seated, making them safe and easy to start.
There are many ideas—such as doing different movements with each hand or coordinating with songs—so they can be enjoyed according to each person’s physical and mental condition.
Also, by adding ideas like speaking aloud while moving the fingers, you can make the exercises even more enjoyable.
Since these exercises can be done anywhere, they’re also great for filling small pockets of free time.
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[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Finger Exercises That Help Prevent Dementia (31–40)
Goo-Paa Exercise
The Goo-Pa exercise is an easy activity you can enjoy even while seated.
Movements that use the fingers help improve coordination between the brain and the hands.
It can also help prevent dementia among older adults, so it’s highly recommended.
The rhythmic motions promote overall blood circulation and can have a relaxing effect.
Enjoying it together with other participants can deepen communication as well.
It helps maintain dexterity in daily life and, overall, I think it’s a wonderful recreational activity that supports both mental and physical health.
Goo Choki Paa-ty (Rock-Paper-Scissors Party)
Shall we all try dancing the “Goo-Choki-Paa” exercise together—just watching it might lift your spirits! This routine is done standing, but it can also be done seated, so it can be adapted to the physical and mental condition of older adults.
Various animals and creatures appear throughout, and their movements are expressed with the hands and feet.
For example, a fist (goo) can represent a gorilla, and scissors (choki) can represent a crab—there are so many ways to communicate using just your hands.
Don’t forget to take a deep breath at the end to refresh your body and mind.
Rock-Paper-Scissors Exercise
This “Rock-Paper-Scissors” exercise is done while speaking out loud.
Using your voice provides beneficial stimulation to the brain, so it’s recommended.
Even a small voice is fine—the key is to perform the rock-paper-scissors movements while speaking.
Exercises that change the movement on each side are also effective for activating the brain.
These can be easy to get wrong, so it may be difficult to do them correctly right away.
However, making mistakes is also important and can be a good opportunity to communicate with others.
Staff should actively speak to participants while they are exercising.
If, if, Mr. Turtle
Let’s try some brain training with hand and finger games.
It’s an exercise where you fold down your fingers to the tune of the children’s song “Moshimoshi Kameyo.” There are different ways to fold the fingers, and the difficulty increases.
It’s easy to fold the same fingers on both hands—thumb, index, and middle—at the same time.
But having one hand lag by a beat and folding different fingers on each side—like “index and thumb,” then “middle and index”—is quite tricky even for young people.
You might call it the brain-training world’s version of a round, like “By the Quiet Lakeside.”
Brain-training hand game with the Frog Song
I think you’ve heard the song “Kaeru no Uta” (The Frog Song).
Using that tune, why not try a fun brain-training exercise? The movement itself is simple: you make a snail by combining a fist and a V-sign.
But whenever the word “kaeru” (frog) appears in the lyrics, you flip your hands upside down.
When you try it, you’ll probably find it surprisingly engaging for your brain.
And if you get tired of the snail, try other movements like a helicopter.
That way, you can avoid getting stuck in a rut.
[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Finger Exercises That Help Prevent Dementia (41–50)
Rock, paper, scissors with pumpkin
Goo-Choki-Pa Pumpkin is a recommended exercise for Halloween.
Dressing up in Halloween costumes while you dance will lift your spirits and make it even more fun.
Since the Goo-Choki-Pa movements are incorporated into various parts, it should help activate the brain.
You can do it standing or sitting, so please adjust it to your physical and mental condition.
The song used here is an upbeat track that I believe will also benefit the minds and bodies of older adults.
Let’s enjoy the Goo-Choki-Pa exercise along with the up-tempo music.
Let’s make Pokémon with rock-paper-scissors
Pokémon are popular characters among children, aren’t they? Some older adults might also like Pokémon because of their grandchildren’s influence.
It seems there are as many as 809 Pokémon characters.
Let’s make those characters while singing the “Rock-Paper-Scissors, What Shall We Make?” song.
It might be a bit difficult to express popular Pokémon characters using only your hands, but let’s try to do it well.
Each Pokémon has its own unique features, so explaining those traits would likely make things more exciting too.