[For Seniors] Spice Up Your Usual Oral Exercises! Patakara Exercises and Tongue Twisters
In facilities where older adults live, many residents look forward to mealtimes.
This time, we’re introducing oral exercises that can strengthen chewing and swallowing abilities to help you enjoy meals more.
If your facility already uses such exercises, adding some variations to your usual routine can make it more fun to continue.
If you haven’t started yet, why not try beginning with slower-paced exercises?
By increasing saliva production, you can help prevent aspiration, improve digestive function, and potentially boost appetite!
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- A Food Quiz for Seniors to Make Eating More Enjoyable
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[For Older Adults] Spice Up Your Usual Oral Exercises! Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra Drills and Tongue Twisters (21–30)
Patakara exercises with the song ‘Back-to-Back Height Comparison’
Here’s an idea for mouth exercises using the well-known children’s song “Sekkura-be.” It’s very simple: just change the song’s lyrics to the sounds pa-ta-ka-ra and sing them out loud.
If you’re doing this in a senior care facility, it may be easier to first sing the original song once and then switch to pa-ta-ka-ra.
It’s also helpful to write the lyrics on a whiteboard or print them on paper so everyone can see them.
Doing this before meals can be especially effective in preventing choking, and practicing every day can lead to even better results.
Please give it a try!
A-I-U-Be Exercise Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Many care facilities have residents do oral exercises before meals.
The goals of these exercises include preventing aspiration, reducing food spillage, and improving eating and articulation.
This time, we’d like to introduce an oral exercise set to the melody of the children’s song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Using familiar songs—like children’s songs that many older adults know—makes it easier to participate.
By changing the lyrics to “aiuebe” and vocalizing them, you can expect to strengthen the tongue and the muscles around the mouth.
Since it also trains the facial expression muscles, conversations with richer expressions may become smoother.
It’s an exercise that also supports communication, so please give it a try.
[For Seniors] Put a twist on your usual oral exercises! Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra drills and tongue twisters (31–40)
Aiube exercises while singing
Here is an introduction to the “Ai-U-Be Exercise,” which comes with lyrics and hand movements.
The Ai-U-Be Exercise is designed to improve breathing from mouth breathing to nasal breathing.
You can do it while seated and practically anywhere, so many senior care facilities may have adopted it.
By switching to nasal breathing, germs can be trapped in the nose, and moistened air can be sent into the body.
Repeating a set—such as 10 repetitions—several times helps strengthen the tongue and enables the mouth to stay closed.
For older adults, an exercise that includes simple lyrics and hand choreography makes it easier to try several times to music.
The movements can be done while seated, helping to move the body and promote overall blood circulation.
Vocal exercise with A I U E O
This is an oral exercise using the vowels “a-i-u-e-o” that makes it easier for older adults to speak loudly.
The first five sounds of the Japanese syllabary, “a-i-u-e-o,” are said to be easy for Japanese people to pronounce.
When the words are easy to say, it may be easier for older adults to try them, and the effect may improve as well.
Be mindful of how wide you open your mouth and how you move it, and try changing the order of a-i-u-e-o or varying the pitch.
The key here is to enjoy the exercise.
Try adding elements that will get older adults engaged, such as inserting casual conversation during the exercise or making the movements bigger.
Gymnastics with Pa-Pi-Pu-Pe-Po
Here’s an introduction to an oral-motor exercise that changes the lyrics of “Hato Poppo” to only use the sounds pa, pi, pu, pe, and po.
At first, write the lyrics on paper or a whiteboard and have participants sing along.
Once they get used to it, hide the lyrics—having them think while singing often leads to laughter.
Recalling the lyrics can also stimulate the brain and may help prevent cognitive decline.
It’s also recommended to add variations, such as raising the arms or marching in place while singing.
Of course, seniors should only do what they comfortably can.
This oral exercise is likely to be a hit when done with a small group of older adults.
Gymnastics with hand gestures
Let’s try adding hand movements to the Patakara oral exercises.
The hand movements are coordinated with the mouth movements for “pa-ta-ka-ra.” For example, you can’t pronounce “pa” without closing your lips.
To strengthen this lip-closing action, add a hand gesture that matches the mouth shape for “pa.” For “pa,” make your hand a fist like “rock” in rock–paper–scissors, then open it to “paper” at the same time you voice the sound.
By adding hand movements, even older adults can become more aware of their mouth movements.
The Patakara oral exercises not only train the muscles used for eating, but also enrich facial expressions and help people enjoy conversations with others.
You can also customize them, such as by adding hand movements while producing the sounds continuously.
This kid had a hard time writing katakana, didn’t they? I wonder if they didn’t cry?
“Kono ko nakanaka katakana kakenakatta na, nakakanakatta kana?” is quite a long tongue twister.
Are they worried that the child who couldn’t write katakana didn’t end up crying? Words with similar sounds like nakanaka and katakana run together almost like a reverse reading.
Plus, the repeated ka sounds create a string of identical syllables, which adds to the difficulty of reading.
Tongue twisters can make you rush, but the key is to stay calm and read through without hurrying.