The Importance of Mental Exercise for Seniors

Posted by Donna Mae Scheib on October 04, 2016

The Importance of Mental Exercise for Seniors

“Challenging the brain helps maintain cognitive vigor and capacity. And maintaining our cognitive health maintains our quality of life."

        Shlomo Breznitz, Ph.D., founder of Cognifit and co-author of Maximum Brainpower: Challenging the Brain for Health and Wisdom

Research has shown that mental exercise during someone’s lifetime (from early to late ages) can contribute to a slower mental decline in old age. Studies report that the actions you take can help keep your mind as sharp as possible when you age. Mental exercise helps your brain stay active and alive so your thinking and reasoning skills, memory, and processing speed remain as strong as possible.

How can you stimulate your brain?

• Social Interaction

Opportunities to talk to neighbors, friends, relatives or others help stimulate our minds. People might ask a question or for your opinion or advice on something. Most of the time you feel good when someone is inviting you to talk. When other people speak, your mind is stimulated as you concentrate to listen and to understand what they are saying. You make associations, feel empathy, and develop a memory of the social interaction.

• Reading

Books of all kinds, newspapers, magazines, and online reading all help to focus on topics and events, zero-in on details, and give practice with comprehension and recall. You may learn new things and be able to engage with others about what you read or apply this learning to a new situation.

• Puzzles and Games

Most newspapers often have a Sudoku or word game puzzle to solve. Magazines have pictures where you compare one to another to see what is different. These puzzles and games are designed to increase your fun and relaxation while improving your mental abilities.   

Board games give you practice with counting, spelling or decision-making. They increase your fun, relaxation, community and mental abilities (recall and word association). You might want to try a game of Scrabble, Dominoes, Checkers, Chess, Bingo or any favorite card game. Jigsaw puzzles are another type of game to try. They come in different numbered pieces with different size pieces, and some made out of sturdier, thicker cardboard so they don’t bend or tear easily.

• New Classes and Activities

Take a cooking or baking class. You will use your senses and involve different parts of your brain. By following a recipe, you will work with planning and measuring skills along with the use of time and discernment (For example, is the cooked/baked item done and when can I eat it?).

Try a foreign language. The listening and hearing involved with learning help to stimulate your brain. Your brain will concentrate on the similarities and differences in sounds and meanings between the new language and your native language.

Learn a new activity or sport. Is there something you always wanted to try? Depending on the activity, the new learning most likely requires learning and remembering new steps and techniques. Many athletic sports use both your mind and body. How about line dancing or bowling? Or you can try chair exercises or yoga.

Learning a new hobby or taking up a craft. These are excellent ways for elderly individuals to keep their brains active and alert. These activities stimulate the brain cells and often provide interaction with others, enjoyment and a sense of positive self-esteem. Many of these activities also help maintain eye and hand coordination along with fine motor skills (For example, knitting, drawing or painting, and assembling a puzzle).

• Music, Art, Creative Arts

Listen to music, learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Creative moments have been shown to utilize more of our brain than simple learning exercises. Try coloring, drawing or painting. There are many coloring books available for adults available in today’s market.  

• Gardening and Exercise

Many seniors are deficient in vitamin D, a vitamin necessary to balance brain hormones, mainly because they spend a majority of time indoors. Gardening is an easy way to get some sunshine, our best source of vitamin D. Planning out a garden, cultivating the soil, and growing plants is a calming activity. It helps to stimulate the brain as you remember facts and figures, and provide decision-making processes.

Exercise is central to memory reinforcement at all ages. It helps you to focus and to recall information better. It readies you to learn more and provides you with a “good” feeling about yourself and your body. The more you move your body, the more nutrients, blood, and oxygen moving through your body. Exercise also helps reduce sugars and cortisol (both implicated for worsening Alzheimer’s and dementia).  Try to sit less and walk more. Go outside for a brisk walk. You’ll notice how good you feel!

• Other Activities to Engage Your Mind

Create word pictures. Visualize the spelling of a word in your head, then try and think of any other words that begin or end with the same beginning letters. Can you think of words that rhyme with this word? Do the same when meeting new people when you try to remember their names. Visualize the spelling of their names and associate this with how the person looks or where you met them.

Do the math in your head. Figure out problems without using a calculator, pen or paper. Then recheck your answer. If it’s right, try harder problems.

Draw a map from memory. After going on an errand or out for a walk, try to draw a map of what you saw. Can you draw a map from where you live to where you ventured and home again?

Eat healthily and get your sleep. Give up snacks rich in fats and carbs. Try eating a handful of nuts and berries each day. Add fish rich in omega-3 oils to your diet. Drink green tea in the afternoon for a boost of energy. Try to eat three meals a day and a few snacks in-between. Are you getting enough sleep? Sleep is essential to keeping your body and your brain healthy and strong.

Practice active listening. When someone is talking, or if you are listening to the radio or television, close your eyes. Use all of your senses to understand what is being said and to be aware of your surroundings. When the person is finished talking or when the radio or television show is over, go back in your mind and repeat some of what you heard.

Switch it up. Change an everyday activity to enhance cognitive skills. Use an opposite hand when brushing your teeth or combing your hair. Do the same for writing your name or dialing on the phone. Listen to the phone with your other ear. You might try wearing your watch on the other wrist. Take different routes on any walking trips. By “switching it up”, you will encourage your brain to keep thinking instead of doing things automatically and without much thought.

Test your recall. Make a list of things to do or a list of items you need. Memorize this and then in about an hour, see if you can recall the items on the list.

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No matter someone’s age, finding and participating in cognitive activities that you enjoy helps your mind to be more active and alert. When you consistently engage your brain with stimulating and new experiences, you will have unlocked the key to cultivating more cognitive reserve to hold off on the mental decline. Your quality of life will be enhanced. So give it some thought and then decide what you can do to help keep your mind as sharp as possible. Remember, it’s never too late.

If you're interested in learning more about any aspect of senior living do not hesitate to contact us or call 1-844-480-8572 anytime. 

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