[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.
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Liven Things Up! A Collection of Brain Training Activities That Will Spark Laughter
- [For Seniors] A Brain-Training, Crowd-Pleasing Word Search Game
- [Brain Training for Seniors] Recommended Hand-Play Recreation for Dementia Prevention
- [For Seniors] Brain Training Recommended for Dementia Prevention
- Fun Brain Training! Memory Games for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Brain-Training Recreation Using a Whiteboard
- Simple games for preventing and improving dementia
- [For Seniors] Find daily brain training. Today’s recommended brain workout.
- [For seniors] Fun brain training! Let’s get excited with the “Aru-Nashi” quiz
- Recreation Activities Effective for Long-Term Care Prevention for Seniors
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Brain Training! Finger Exercises That Help Prevent Dementia
[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Lively Mind Exercises (1–10)
Number search
This time, we’re introducing a game-like activity called “Number Hunt.” From a large set of numbers, you look for the ones that are duplicated.
Once the signal to start is given, find them within the time limit.
It may look easy, but you’ll be surprised at how tricky it can be to spot them.
Before you know it, you’ll be saying, “One more time!” and getting hooked.
Because you have to remember the sequence of numbers and decide whether you’ve seen a number before, it also works as a brain-training recreation with expected cognitive benefits.
Spot the difference
Let us introduce a “find the different picture” activity, said to help train spatial awareness and concentration.
From the arranged illustrations, locate the one image that is different.
Because you need the focus to spot the odd one out and the memory to compare candidates with the original, it also serves as a workout for your working memory.
People of any age can enjoy it, and the sense of accomplishment when you find it is exceptional.
You can also time how long it takes and compete, so it’s fun for individuals as well as small groups.
Find the same items
We’d like to introduce a matching game that’s recommended even for people who find arithmetic or reading and writing difficult, as well as for seniors who aren’t comfortable with them.
Look for items in a picture that match the prompt.
Searching for images that are the same as the prompt requires observation and memory skills, which helps stimulate the brain.
You can focus and play on your own, or enjoy it while chatting in a larger group.
With a big group, forming teams of several seniors and doing a team competition could be exciting.
It may also encourage interaction with others.
[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Exciting Mental Exercises (11–20)
Number Shape Quiz
It’s a puzzle where numbers are written in a 3×3 grid, and you have to figure out which number goes in the center.
The time limit is one minute.
There’s a hint, but it doesn’t reveal which number it is, so you need to prove which number belongs there.
Focus on the sequences of numbers horizontally and vertically; you’ll need both the creative idea of “what if?” and the logical reasoning to calculate and verify.
If you stay calm, you should be able to reach the answer.
In senior care facilities, writing it on a whiteboard and solving it with a group can make it enjoyable for everyone.
It’s also recommended as a way to help prevent cognitive decline.
Calculation Quiz
We would like to introduce a “calculation quiz” that cultivates logical thinking, memory, and arithmetic skills.
There are four problems in total; the answers to three are known.
The final problem provides a hint, and it’s a quiz where you deduce the answer by working through the calculations leading up to it.
Starting from the answer and working backward, you calculate which numbers fit into the parts marked with symbols such as circles and squares, and you need to remember the numbers used along the way.
Because it requires performing multiple activities simultaneously, it provides stimulating content for the brain.
There is also a time limit, so it’s important to proceed calmly without rushing.
Spring Flowers Quiz 1
As spring arrives and the weather warms up, we start seeing more and more vividly colored flowers, don’t we? This is a quiz to test how many spring-blooming flowers you can recognize by looking at photos and thinking of their names.
First, check whether you can connect each photo with the correct flower name, and from there we recommend diving deeper into learning about each flower.
If you firmly learn their blooming seasons and characteristics, you might find yourself paying more attention to flowers when you look outside.
Word association game
It’s believed that even just thinking—without knowing the correct answer—can be effective for activating the brain and doing brain training.
So why not try an association game that’s perfect for that kind of training? Starting from a single prompt, you let your mind explore and chain together different ideas—this kind of play cultivates creativity and flashes of insight.
And the great thing about association games is that there can be many answers, with lots of room to branch out.
From there, you can enjoy small talk and even spark new conversations.
Having a whiteboard makes it even more fun.
