Keeping The Mind Sharp And Memory Stimulated

Why are brain games for mind and memory so good for seniors?

Memory activities are primarily;

Nintendo Wii and DS

Brain games for nursing home seniors have gone beyond just ‘matching’ games, scrabble and crosswords and have entered the tech age. There are interactive video games with the Nintendo Wii as well as video games on the PC, that seniors are finding new and interesting. These games challenge and entertain for hours while providing mental sharpness and cognitive improvement as well.

The Nintendo Wii, has gotten the attention and enjoyment of seniors with their sports and fitness series of games.

Nintendo has also made brain training games called brain-age for their Nintendo DS handheld game players. These have gotten the attention of doctors and hospitals that have found the games beneficial for their senior patients. What better excuse for a senior to get a handheld video game console just like their grandchild, than to say its “doctor recommended”!

With these brain games and mind games, seniors will be entertained and challenged for hours with matching games, sequence, math questions, games with clocks and calendars and many more.

Games and Exercises

Obviously a senior doesn’t have to have the tech gadget to exercise their memory and cognitive skills. In the ‘olden days’ (10 years ago!), people sharpened their minds with regular matching games, memory games, speed games like math equations and spelling.

Flash Cards

A good favorite for seniors is flash cards. There is no shortage to the kinds and types of flashcards that are available. There are flashcards made for matching, sequencing, vocabulary, grammar, language, definitions and many, many more. You can even create and print your own flashcards from an online website that are tailored to specific seniors or a party or activity theme for a group.

Matching Games

A matching game is easy enough with a deck of cards or flash cards that have duplicates. Flipping them over so the pictures are unseen and the seniors, either individually or in a group, if the cards can be tacked up for everyone to see, can pick the cards to be turned over to remember and match where the partner card is.

Puzzles

Word, object and game challenges to figure out. Word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, croswords, word search, Labyrinths, etc.