[Brain Training for Seniors] Recommended Hand-Play Recreation for Dementia Prevention
Fingerplay recreation that also helps prevent dementia.
Because it can be done while seated, it’s easy for older adults who have difficulty standing or walking to participate, and it’s offered in many senior care facilities.
That said, it’s tough for staff to plan activities by choosing from the many different fingerplay options, isn’t it?
So this time, we’re introducing recommended fingerplay recreation activities that can also help prevent dementia.
We’ve gathered a wide variety—from simple fingertip exercises to activities that involve moving the hands while singing, which can also help strengthen the muscles used for speech.
The fingertips are so rich in nerves that they’re often called the “second brain.”
Let’s have fun together while moving our fingertips and hands a lot to activate the brain!
- [For Seniors] Hand and finger play roundup: Finger exercises that lead to brain training
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Extremely Effective Brain Training! A Fun Collection of Hand Games
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [For Seniors] Popular Hand-Play Songs: Fun Brain-Training Ideas
- Cognicise you can do while seated. Simple dementia prevention.
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- [For Seniors] Brain Training Recommended for Dementia Prevention
- [For Seniors] Recommended Even for People with Dementia! Simple Recreational Activities
- Simple games for preventing and improving dementia
- [For Seniors] Liven Things Up With Different Left-Right Movements! Game and Exercise Ideas
[Brain Training for Seniors] Recommended for Dementia Prevention! Hand-Play Recreation (121–130)
The Fox and the Hunter
This is a hand game called “Fox and Hunter,” where you alternately make different movements with each hand.
With one hand, make a fox shape; with the other, make a gun shape to represent the hunter.
Perform these hand shapes in order, switching sides as you go.
If you make a fox with your right hand and a gun with your left, do the opposite next.
Repeat about 10 times.
It’s good to start slowly and gradually increase the speed.
Adding a clap at the moment you switch sides will make it a bit more challenging.
Games like this—doing different movements with each hand, alternately—provide good stimulation for the brain and may help prevent cognitive decline.
Goo-pa and clapping
Let’s try various hand games using just three actions: a fist, an open hand, and a clap.
At first, it’s fine to simply perform the three movements slowly.
Once you get used to them, alternate extending the fist and open hand forward, occasionally move them to the side, and while doing the fist–open–clap sequence, try vocalizing sounds like “pa-ta-ka-ra” or “a-i-u-e-o.” You can also keep the fist and open-hand motions the same while gradually increasing the number of claps.
With just these three movements, you can do a wide variety of brain-training hand games.
Adding different movements stimulates the brain, and moving your mouth as well can help prevent aspiration.
one hundred twenty-three dash four dash two dash five
This game involves matching randomly appearing numbers by raising the same number of fingers.
Some of you may have played it as a child.
It’s a great brain-training activity that can be confusing even when played normally, but you can stimulate your brain even more by increasing the difficulty! For example, you can alternate hands to make the numbers, add a handclap after a specific number like 5, or start counting from the thumb instead of the index finger for 1.
By adding these small twists to an already slightly tricky hand game, you have to think even more while playing, which makes it even more promising for helping prevent cognitive decline.
Brain training with rock-paper-scissors
This version of the Rock-Paper-Scissors exercise incorporates brain training elements.
It’s recommended for those who want to try a twist on the usual recreational activities.
Examples include exercises where you alternate hands while making rock, scissors, and paper, or doing rock-paper-scissors with one hand while the other hand keeps count.
All of them are challenging tasks that require full brain engagement.
It might be tough at first, but if you do them every day, your body will naturally remember.
Using your fingertips provides good stimulation for the brain and can help support both mental and physical health.
beanbags
As a fun idea for everyone to enjoy together, we also recommend sitting in a circle and relaying beanbags.
Have three or more people form a circle and place a beanbag in the left hand.
Then, with the right hand, pick it up and place it into the person next to you’s left hand.
Since you need to synchronize your movements, it’s best to sing a children’s song and match the rhythm.
Try to choose a song with a relatively slow tempo.
Doing two tasks at once—singing and handling the beanbag—helps activate the brain.
