[For Dementia Prevention!] Brain-Training Math Quiz for Seniors
A recommended activity for preventing dementia in older adults is doing arithmetic problems.
By doing calculations, you train the brain’s cognitive functions, which can help prevent dementia.
In this article, we introduce arithmetic exercises that are great brain training for seniors.
We’ve compiled problems that support dementia prevention, including addition and subtraction, read-aloud calculation exercises, and quick-response calculation tasks.
Since calculation problems really make you use your brain, it’s important to take it slow and keep at it steadily without overexerting yourself.
Try incorporating arithmetic brain-training exercises that can help prevent dementia.
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For Dementia Prevention! Brain-Training Math Quiz for Seniors (1–10)
Date calculation
It’s an arithmetic problem where you add, but the answer is a date.
For example, you might be asked, “What is 7 days after March 4?” and you figure out what month and day that is.
It sounds simple, but when the number you add has two digits, you can find yourself thinking, “Huh?” You can present several questions at once and think them through carefully, or set a time limit and answer one by one.
You can also make it harder with questions like “What is 5 days before January 1?” which cross months or involve subtraction.
instant calculation
This is a set of exercises where you calculate the total value of several coins displayed on the screen.
The key point is that it’s not just a stream of numbers.
While you’re checking each one—“this is 1 yen, this is 10 yen…”—the display time runs out.
So it’s designed to train quick thinking.
The fact that the arrangement changes each time might also be a pretty important factor.
Imitating the video by actually preparing coins and doing it on your desk seems good too, since it makes randomness and difficulty adjustments easy.
Mix-and-match calculation
This is a mixed-up calculation drill where addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are combined in the problems.
Since it sometimes uses three numbers or two-digit numbers, they aren’t simple questions—you’ll have to think carefully.
There’s also a time limit for your answers, so speed is key! Those elements—the stimulation—help exercise your brain.
Applying the math rule “do multiplication and division before addition and subtraction” is another important point of this workbook.
With a bit of ingenuity, brain training can be limitless!
For dementia prevention! Brain-training arithmetic quiz for seniors (11–20)
Hiragana oral reading calculation
Many places likely incorporate simple arithmetic problems and mental math into brain training.
However, this set of problems presents addition and subtraction written in hiragana.
Just by introducing this one twist, the difficulty increases—and the fun does too! It turns the task into something that seems to engage different parts of the brain than ordinary addition.
If you find it a bit hard or confusing, feel free to take your time without worrying about the clock, or convert them into numbers and work them out on paper.
Grid Calculation Problems
This is a grid calculation problem where you add the numbers at the intersections of the rows and columns, like in a crossword-style grid.
Similar to those quick-reference charts where birth years are listed vertically and birth months horizontally, with numbers written at their intersections, the vertical and horizontal axes here have numbers, and you answer with the sums at the crossing points.
The more cells you have, the more problems you can create.
To start, you might try something simple with about five cells.
Even if you can’t answer or make mistakes, what matters is thinking—so don’t worry and keep solving!
three-digit addition
This is a workbook where three three-digit numbers appear, and you have to add them up within 20 seconds.
Since you need to calculate at a good pace, it should be quite the brain workout.
The format is mental arithmetic, so get some paper and a pen ready and give it a try! Doing so might naturally exercise your fingertips as well.
Using this method as a reference, for example, you could prepare lots of cards with three-digit numbers, draw them like playing cards, and calculate with the numbers you get—that could work too.
Brain training math problems
Can you solve this puzzle in 10 seconds? It looks like the kanji “田,” with four divided sections containing numbers.
On the right, one section is missing a number; your task is to fill it so the total matches the sum of the squares on the left.
It may feel overwhelming with all the numbers at first, but don’t worry—the answer is already shown on the left, so if you think it through calmly, the solution will naturally come to you! The 10-second limit is the key, but if that’s tough, try 20 seconds instead.