[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 (31–40)
Brain-boosting riddles: activate your brain in 20 seconds
Let me introduce a perfect brain-training game for when you want to consciously get your mind moving: “Brain-Boost Riddles: Activate Your Brain in 20 Seconds.” By thinking of answers within a short 20-second time limit, you naturally train your concentration and quick thinking.
The problems are simple yet clever, stimulating creativity and memory to promote brain activation.
The sense of achievement when you solve them boosts motivation, and continued practice can be expected to deliver real results.
It’s a brain-training idea that works great for lively group fun or at your own pace solo.
Kanji that are easy to misread quiz
We use them all the time, but we might actually be reading them wrong! Here are some ideas for a quiz on kanji that are easy to misread.
There are countless idioms used in everyday life, right? It might be a quiz full of new discoveries like “Oh, I memorized that wrong!” or “I didn’t know that!” Be sure to try this quiz on commonly misread kanji! For example, a word like “肉汁” appears and you’re asked, “How do you read this kanji?” There are 20 such questions.
Each has a 10-second time limit, so just answer as you normally would.
Brain Teasers: Riddle Quiz
The “Brain Gym Riddle Quiz” that sparks inspiration is a wordplay game that’s fun to think through.
Each prompt has a little twist, so the answer won’t always come to you right away.
By shifting your perspective—looking at the order or appearance of words, or everyday events—you’re nudged closer to the solution.
Part of the charm is how the puzzles can make you go “aha!” or even laugh.
Since it’s about creativity rather than knowledge, anyone can join in casually, and the time spent thinking becomes a pleasantly stimulating experience.
It’s a brain-training game that gently loosens up your mind while you enjoy yourself, and it’s especially recommended for older adults.
Food Names Crossword Fill-in
Let’s jump in casually! Here are some ideas for a food-name cross fill-in puzzle.
It’s a quiz we’d love people with years of cooking experience or confidence in ingredient names to try.
Try making a cross fill-in with food names.
For example, imagine a 9-by-9 grid filled with hiragana, with the center square left blank.
When you put the correct hiragana into the center square, it completes two words—it’s a unique fill-in-the-blank puzzle! Getting the right answer will leave you feeling refreshed and satisfied, won’t it?
Restricted Shiritori: Autumn Foods
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This is a word chain game that becomes brain training by intentionally setting constraints.
On a whiteboard, write “Starts with 〇 and ends with 〇,” then play shiritori using autumn foods that meet those conditions.
For example, with a word that starts with “sa” and ends with “n,” you could use “sanma” (Pacific saury).
The quiz master sets the conditions, and everyone thinks of words that fit.
By writing answers in sequence in a grid, it’s visually easy to follow, and the overall flow is clear, which helps build excitement.
Making the theme autumn foods lets you enjoy a seasonal feel while playing, and it also encourages broader conversation.
As autumn-specific foods keep coming up, participants can share memories and stories as well.
[For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Lively Mind Exercises (41–50)
Vertical and Horizontal Fill-in-the-Blank Quiz
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♫ Original song – TBJ / Care • Rehabilitation • Nursing – TBJ / Care • Rehabilitation • Nursing
Let’s try a fill-in-the-letter quiz on a whiteboard.
We’ll write three-letter words in a horizontal row on the board.
Leave the middle letter blank, and have the seniors guess it.
By thinking of different letters that could fit in the blank, it becomes a brain-training activity.
The key is to make sure that when you fill in the blank letters and read across, they form words.
Everyone’s suggested answers can be correct, and another single word will also emerge, giving the seniors a sense of accomplishment.
A quiz of hard-to-read kanji related to autumn
This is a quiz where you write autumn-themed difficult kanji on a whiteboard and guess how they’re read.
By choosing kanji that evoke the season, the activity feels familiar and engaging.
Offering hints or setting a time limit can raise focus and a pleasant sense of tension, making it lively as a recreational activity for older adults.
In addition to a solo, contemplative style, a team format—where participants share ideas as they go—is also recommended.
Beyond reading the kanji, the activity can lead to discussions about the related plants or foods, making it an intellectually stimulating game that fosters interaction and knowledge sharing.