[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!
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- [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 Recreational Activities (31–40)
Inchworm Brain Training Exercise
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.
Hand and mouth Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra exercises
We would like to introduce ideas for the Patakara exercises, which allow you to care for your mouth and get some exercise while seated in a chair.
By pronouncing “pa,” “ta,” “ka,” and “ra” while performing full-body movements, these exercises are highly efficient, benefiting not only your physical function but also helping to maintain and improve oral function.
In addition, because you perform two actions simultaneously—movement and pronunciation—the increased positive stimulation to the brain is expected to help prevent cognitive decline.
It may feel complicated at first, but please try it slowly at your own pace.
Seated Rhythm Exercises to Classic Showa-Era Hits
This time, we’ll introduce a singing exercise routine that moves your body to nostalgic Showa-era classics.
Since it involves physical movement, it’s best to start with songs at a slower tempo.
When you move your body to music, your brain continuously engages in activities like keeping rhythm, coordinating movement, and deciding what to do next.
Because of this, the abundant stimulation activates the brain and is said to offer cognitive training benefits.
Once you get used to it, adding singing while you move can further stimulate your brain.
Do it within a comfortable range, and enjoy yourself as you go.
Rhythmic gymnastics with Momotaro
Here’s a rhythm exercise using the familiar song Momotaro.
Sit in a chair and rotate your arms to the beat of the song.
Slowly twist your body to the left and right.
Be careful not to fall off the chair when twisting.
When spreading your arms and legs, move within a comfortable range.
At the end, take slow deep breaths to steady your breathing and relax.
It’s also recommended to move your body using a ball or a towel.
Stay safe and enjoy getting your body moving.
Hometown: A song-and-exercise routine that livens things up with three movements
Move your hands to the melody of the children’s song “Furusato,” and stimulate your brain not only through the hand movements but also by visualizing your hometown.
The flow is two claps followed by forming a number with your hands, thinking ahead to the next number while keeping the rhythm of the song in mind.
After making a 5 with both hands, the count returns to 1, so this is where you should focus carefully and aim for smoother movements.
Once you get used to it, we also recommend increasing the speed to further improve concentration.
Brain Training for Seniors: Recommended Hand-Play Recreations for Dementia Prevention (41–50)
Exercise collection specialized in improving hand and finger movements
This is an exercise where you perform various finger movements in sequence, checking how your fingers move while aiming for smoother motion.
The routine progresses from overall movements to examining each finger’s motion one by one, gradually becoming more complex, which can also be expected to stimulate the brain.
If you find a movement that doesn’t go as you intend, focus on that one to work toward improving your finger control.
It’s also recommended to do the exercises to the rhythm of a children’s song or similar music, as it helps you keep time while you practice.
The Itomaki (Spool Winding) Song Using Rubber Bands
This exercise aims to make finger movements smoother by stretching a rubber band with both hands and moving it from finger to finger.
Maintaining strength is important to keep the band well stretched, so sustaining effort while moving adds complexity that also helps stimulate the brain.
If you coordinate the movement of shifting the rubber band with a song—such as the children’s song “Ito Maki”—and proceed rhythmically, it will further improve smoothness.
We also recommend starting with patterns that move the band to the same finger on both hands, then gradually shifting the positions to make the patterns more complex over time.