How Do Memory Games Benefit Elders?

Introduction

After a certain age, our mental abilities start to decline. Memory games for seniors are an excellent way to keep the mind flexible and strengthen cognitive function. As we grow older, we find it more difficult to think quickly and recall information. Memory games help reduce this problem and allow us time to think and create new connections between different thoughts. They stimulate the brain like crossword puzzles or Sudoku do but in a less challenging format. In addition, memory games can be a way to keep seniors engaged as they age as their ability to stay involved in the real world decreases. This article will provide an overview of some of the benefits of memory games for seniors, describe how they are played and provide information on which games are most beneficial.

Memory games are not just for kids! Many elder care facilities have begun to incorporate them into their curriculums due to the many benefits that they can provide. Memory games improve memory, concentration, and mental agility in elders of all levels of ability. They also help relieve anxiety and boredom while providing a new form of entertainment. Here are three different memory game types with how they benefit elders in particular.

10 Benefits Of  Memory Games For Elders

1. Cognitive Stimulation

Memory games stimulate the brain, keeping it active and occupied. This mental exercise cultivates new brain cells and synapses that strengthen your ability to remember things. In addition, memory games give seniors something to do and keep them mentally active and engaged even if they feel they do not have much more to contribute to society or their family. They can help seniors recover from memory loss and enjoy the same satisfying mental challenge again. Memory games also help reduce anxiety by allowing you time to focus on a problem without distractions of an overbearing schedule or overwhelming social obligations such as work or family that may overwhelm them at times of illness or depression.

2. Mental Agility

Memory games develop mental agility and dexterity, connecting new information to old. These games work to improve “temporal-spatial” memory which helps with the integration of new information and helps you make sense of it. Memory helps us remember facts and concepts such as dates, names, phone numbers, and places we’ve been. The more we try to memorize these things in our later years the better we’ll be able to recall them properly in the future. Memory games help us connect new facts or information with facts and information that we already know and build a bridge that enables us to recall them when needed.

3. Memory Improvement

Memory games are most beneficial by helping improve memory in one’s particular area. They are great for people who have lost their memory due to old age, Alzheimer’s or dementia. These games help address that loss of memory and develop new ways to remember things the person may have forgotten over the years. Many books written on memory enhancement are based upon popular memory games that have been created for this purpose.

4. Mental Activity

Keeping seniors active mentally is important to their overall health. Mental activity, including memory games, helps keep the brain stimulated and reduces their chances of becoming depressed. This relieves them of the burden of having to think too much, which can be difficult for them at times due to chronic illness or other conditions that make it less easy for them to carry out tasks. Many people with dementia become highly agitated, causing them great distress and anxiety. People with Alzheimer’s are often unable to express what they are feeling or thinking, which causes them great frustration. Some people develop dementia after a stroke or an accident has damaged their brain function.

5. Boredom

While they may not be as stimulating as physical exercise such as walking, running, biking or playing sports, memory games can be a fun and relaxing pastime. They are very enjoyable for both elder care facility staff and the senior residents because many enjoy puzzles or crosswords. Many attendees at senior centers play memory games because they are one of the only activities to which seniors are invited due to their cognitive skills.

6. Time To Think

Memory games will give you time to think. While elders need more downtime than younger people do, these activities still allow them some quiet time where they can be alone without having too many people hovering over them all the time. This is when they have time to think and can recollect things from their past. Many memory games require little or no motor skills so people with low energy levels due to pain or sickness can play them without feeling overwhelmed. In addition, many of these games involve thinking, not just the physical act of putting the pieces together. This allows more of the brain to be active than if they were doing something physically based like an exercise routine or watching TV.

7. Social Interaction

Memory games allow you to interact with others in a positive way, helping build social skills and relationships that may have been reduced due to cognitive impairments such as memory loss. Memory games can be a great activity for a group of people who may otherwise not get a chance to spend time together or know each other on a more personal level. It also gives the person with memory loss something to do if they are having trouble with other aspects of their daily schedule, such as going out in public, going shopping or visiting family.

8. Personal Growth

Early Alzheimer’s research by Dr. Marian Diamond of Berkeley University showed that learning new things was imperative for the aging brain to function properly and this impacted its growth. In one study she put rats through mazes and after observing how they did she placed new rats in the same mazes and observed how they did compared to the original rats. She found that the new rats were significantly slowed down by the mazes they’d never seen before. But the initial rats, who had been trained in the maze, performed much better than they had at first. The conclusion she drew from this research was that learning new things helps memory formation. This is why it’s important to continue learning after childhood even though many people don’t feel like it’s necessary.

9. Self-Esteem

People with Alzheimer’s are often faced with the reality of their illness every day when they look in the mirror or see their reflection in a car window or storefront glass. They may be irregular in their speech and forget things that they did just a few minutes before or can’t recall how to do something that they did easily before. This can be extremely demoralizing for the person and family alike. Fortunately, if memory games are playing on TV or radio, someone nearby will likely get them started on it and it may get them to try new activities again.

10. Quality Of Life

The quality of life of someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia is often great when they have a lot going for them socially, mentally and physically in other areas of their lives. As a result these persons may not realize there is a problem until it’s too late

Conclusion

The bottom line is that memory games can be tremendous for someone with Alzheimer’s or Dementia in the later stages of their illness. The best part about them is that they are so easy to implement and it doesn’t take much effort to play them when you’re watching TV, listening to the radio or just sitting in front of a computer. Putting these memory games into daily activities can greatly improve their quality of life and help them stay active mentally longer than if they did nothing at all for stimulation.