[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Lively Mind Exercises
Activities like games and brain training exercises conducted in senior facilities—often called “mental workouts”—are said to help prevent dementia or slow its progression.
So this time, we’re introducing “mental workouts for seniors”!
Mental workouts not only provide a sense of accomplishment when a problem is solved and activate brain functions, but they also play an important role in creating opportunities for communication with other seniors.
They are also recommended as a way to relieve stress for seniors who may fall into repetitive daily routines.
By adjusting the difficulty level to suit each senior’s condition and adding creative touches to make the activities easier to engage with, you can further increase their sense of satisfaction.
Try incorporating them into your recreation time or daily routine.
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[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Exciting Mental Exercises (91–100)
A wordplay riddle using the character “sky”
Let's use the hints to figure out the answer! This is a word puzzle using the character for 'sky' (空).
The simple character 空 turns blue, and its corners are rounded off.
These two points are your clues! The time limit is 30 seconds.
If having a time limit makes it hard to think carefully, try removing the limit and giving it a go.
The answer is “a clear, blue sky.” It’s a clever and funny wordplay puzzle where a single character can express a whole scene.
Witty characters using the kanji for ‘insect’
Let's think flexibly! Here's a wordplay puzzle using the character for 'insect' (虫).
The character 虫 is shown as if it has fallen over—what does that represent? The hint is to focus on the fact that it’s “an insect” and that it’s fallen.
If you consider whether the action “to fall over” (korobu) can be expressed with a different word, you might reach the answer.
The answer is “ladybug” (tentōmushi).
That’s because “to fall over” (korobu) can be rephrased as “転倒” (tentō), so we get “テントウ虫” (tentōmushi, ladybug).
It’s one of those puzzles that makes you say, “Ah, I see!”
Witty calligraphy using the characters ‘parent’ and ‘se’
After taking a quick breather, let’s give our brains a little workout.
Here’s a wordplay riddle using the characters “親” (parent) and “せ.” You can see the character “せ” placed between the two parts that make up “親,” right? The hints are that it’s a word meaning to cause someone trouble, and that “せ” is inside “親.” With those hints, many of you have probably figured it out already.
The answer is “oyanakase” (a child who causes their parents grief).
Oyanakase refers to behavior by a child that causes their parents distress or makes them lament.
karuta (traditional Japanese playing cards)
Karuta is a game where you listen to the reading cards and compete to grab the picture cards.
It’s recommended for people with dementia because it stimulates hearing and sight.
When playing with a large group, commercially available karuta sets may be a bit small, so it could be fun to make your own sets together, such as a “Popular Songs Karuta” or a “National Travel Karuta.” Karuta used to be a classic New Year’s pastime, and many older adults likely have one or two memories connected to it.
It would be wonderful to enjoy karuta along with those memories and the conversations they bring.
Cognicise with Shiritori
This is a “Shiritori Cognisize” you can enjoy casually like a game.
While playing shiritori, sit in a chair and do a marching motion with your feet.
Shiritori is a game most older adults have played at least once, and it’s recommended for preventing dementia.
Searching for a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word engages memory and thinking skills, stimulating the brain.
By training the brain, it can help prevent dementia.
Once you get used to regular shiritori, try adding variations, such as clapping your hands when you answer.
It’s an exercise you can do with several people, so it also encourages interaction with others.
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.
Hiragana cards
This is a game where you use a set of kana cards laid out in the playing area to make as many words as possible within a time limit.
You can play with various patterns, such as specifying the number of characters—like “two-character words”—or setting themes, such as “names of vegetables.” If someone gets stuck playing alone because they can’t think of words, it’s recommended to play in teams and cooperate.
You can make it challenging by limiting the available characters, or ramp up the excitement by adding more full sets of the 50-sound kana to broaden the range of words.
