Playing games may be a natural thing to do for many children and young adults. However, this is not something that many of our elderly loved ones can do, especially when they have no one to have fun with. Besides, getting old limits people’s mobility.
Aside from their physical health, older adults tend to suffer from cognitive decline. So if you’re living with or caring for elderly loved ones, or they are undergoing occupational therapy in Singapore, you must make it part of their routine to keep them entertained.
This article will look into the health benefits of playing games, especially for older adults. It will also list games for seniors and other seniors activities that can help keep the brain active, elderly games that relieve stress, and boost brain health. So expect to read about the best brain games, jigsaw puzzles, word games, board game, and more.
If you’re ready to play games with your elderly loved ones, read on.
Ways to Engage Your Elderly Loved Ones at Home in a Meaningful Way
You won’t run out of ideas regarding games for seniors. The question is, are you ready to set aside time and effort to play outdoor or indoor games, trivia quizzes or free online games with the senior citizens in your home?
Keep in mind the following factors when choosing the most suitable games for seniors. Your goal is to ensure the older adults at home feel happy while boosting their cognitive skills, mental health, and overall well-being.
Social Interaction
Older people are known to be more susceptible to developing depression as they age, especially if they have chronic ailments. It affects their mental health and emotional state. Moreso, it makes them physically weaker, which speeds up the development of limited mobility.
A social game encourages social interaction. So you must find a social game your elderly loved one will enjoy. Engaging in games where they learn new skills while promoting social interaction will make them less likely to succumb to loneliness and isolation.
In addition, constant social interaction through a game or chit-chat helps promote several health advantages. For one, it reduces most seniors risk of cardiovascular issues. It also lowers the likelihood that they will develop Alzheimer’s disease or early onset of memory loss. Staying active socially, physically, and mentally keep the brain active and the memory sharp.
In Singapore, you can search for active ageing hubs to check where you can bring the senior citizens at home once in a while. Giving them a chance to interact with other people outside their homes encourages social interaction. These hubs conduct community-wide activities to keep senior citizens physically active.
They set up spaces where seniors can play the most popular card games, free online games, board game, matching cards, word games, the best brain games; you name it. Older adults would look forward to the time they spend in these hubs since most games are specially picked for their age range.
Aside from games for seniors, they encourage older adults to participate in community dining, volunteering opportunities, health workshops, bonding over cooking, and group exercise sessions, such as yoga or tai chi.
Continued Learning
Continuing to upskill and learn new things is another strategy to keep seniors entertained and involved in their later years. Despite their age, they can still learn a lot in everyday life. They can pick up new talents and skills and improve memory by playing board games, card games, or brain games.
You can also teach older adults about how they can access technology. This way, they can enjoy online games, virtual cooking classes, memory games, and many online games.
A 2012 study found that lifelong learning dramatically lowers the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment in older adults. This is a result of improving their cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills.
With the help of brain exercises done through mental stimulation and brain training, these older individuals learn something new. Continued practice and engagement will keep them healthy and happy.
Senior Gaming
Playing games for seniors is a great way to keep your elderly loved ones occupied. It is a favorite nursing home activity in many facilities, not only in Singapore but worldwide. You can adopt these games to engage older adults at home. These games offer many health benefits, specifically to their mental health.
If you have a home nurse staying with the patient while you are at work, you can ask them to play brain games, card games, memory games, board games, fun party games, jigsaw puzzles, and many more to entertain the elderly while boosting their mental abilities. The best games for seniors depend on the patient’s health condition and overall well-being.
Games are a great way to keep seniors occupied and can help stave off chronic disorders like dementia, whether in the convenience of your own home, a senior living community, or an old daycare facility.
Several activities are designed to meet the physical and emotional demands of our senior loved ones, regardless of your level of physical mobility. If they are susceptible to getting sick, you can try many indoor games that offer many health gains without the need to leave home or go outdoors. These games for seniors include sudoku puzzle, memory game, logic puzzles, board game, and word puzzles.
Playing many games for seniors, specifically brain games, card games, memory games, board games, jigsaw puzzle, word puzzles, or any classic game or popular game played online, helps improve brain function, develop problem-solving skills, and boost memory without demanding the person to perform much physical work.
You will notice how playing games for seniors positively impact an older person’s life after doing it consistently. All these games will help them develop lateral thinking while boosting their mental abilities.
Staying Active
Aside from playing games for seniors, your loved one needs to do any physical activity as often as they can. Being physically active even in old age offers many health benefits. It promotes strength and balance, which help to prevent falls, and enjoy their daily walks to breathe fresh air.
You can engage the older family members in senior-friendly exercises. Aside from walking, they can do yoga, swimming, and other low-impact physical routines.
For instance, tai chi is a low-impact exercise that helps improve balance, muscle strength, and aerobic capacity, which can help reduce the risk of falls in the elderly. Another activity that is not only enjoyable and engaging but also raises your heart rate is dancing.
Swimming, yoga, strolling, and cycling are more examples of moderate hobbies for seniors. If you have gadgets at home that allow them to play indoor games using electronic machines, you can teach them how to use the device. When done right, they can play these games in a fun way, which is good for their physical health and can also help improve hand-eye coordination.
The Importance of Playing Games for Seniors
Even if they may seem straightforward, games have the power to entertain seniors in the same manner that they do children.
As people age, they may lose some of their former physical and mental abilities and develop age-related illnesses like dementia and limited mobility. Many senior-friendly games stimulate the brain and enhance memory, which improves general brain function.
Games have a social component in addition to improving cognitive abilities. They allow senior citizens to join frequently to play bingo, mahjong, or group exercises.
Older adults who regularly engage with others not only have the opportunity to socialize with their peers but also avoid loneliness and isolation, problems that are becoming prevalent among the aging population.
Playing games for seniors improve their physical, mental, and emotional health. These games boost their cognitive function, brain training, and hand-eye coordination.
This is why you must take time each day to encourage them to play. The game doesn’t have to be complicated as long as they promote thinking skills and stamina.
What Are the Most Fun Games Can You Play with Your Senior Family Members?
You have many options when it comes to games for seniors. You can choose depending on what you are trying to achieve. You can also plan their activities and games so that they won’t easily get tired of playing the same games each day.
Traditional Games
Aside from the health benefits, many seniors will also appreciate playing the games they used to play in their younger years.
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Zero Point
Imagine zero point as playing a reverse limbo where participants must jump higher as the game goes on rather than lower. Start by tying many rubber bands together until you have your preferred length for the rope. You will use this instead of a limbo stick. Ask a person to hold each end of the rope.
The player’s goal is to jump over or cross the rope without touching it. Try gripping the rope at ankle height to start simply before gradually increasing the challenge.
Beyond the enjoyment it will provide, zero point is a productive moderate workout that can improve a person’s bone and cardiovascular health while toning their leg muscles.
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Chapteh
Chapteh is a terrific way to get you moving. The game’s goal is to utilize your feet to keep a chapteh, a feathered shuttlecock, in the air as long as you can.
This can be played in groups, passing the chapteh from player to player, or even one-on-one. Even though it appears easy, striking the chapteh with your feet is more complicated than it seems. Players can switch to using their hands or elbows for simpler versions.
Moreover, playing chapteh can help seniors focus and develop strength while improving their balance and coordination.
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Kuti Kuti
These little plastic tokens may not appear to be much at first glance. However, they rank among Singapore’s most beloved folk games. When playing kuti kuti, two players alternately flip their tokens to bring them closer together.
The players will try to flip their tokens on top of their opponents whenever the tokens are close enough. The first participant to complete the task successfully not only wins the round but also gets to keep both pieces. Flag erasers, another well-liked traditional pastime in Singapore, can also be used to play this game.
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Five Stones
A game of five stones might be enjoyable if you’ve always wanted to try your hand at juggling but haven’t had much luck. This game, which some people sometimes refer to as jackstones, is played with pyramid-shaped canvas sacks that are weighted down with either sand or rice.
The game’s objective is to grab the stone thrown into the air while simultaneously picking up another stone with the same hand. Players may proceed and follow the progression until they have collected all five stones. The goal of this game is to catch the stone as it is about to fall and keep it from touching the ground.
At first, playing the game could appear difficult, but once you get the feel of it, you’ll find it to be relatively simple. In addition to bringing back memories, this can test seniors’ hand-eye coordination and help them develop faster reflexes.
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Paper Balls
Paper balls, an iconic traditional pastime among Singaporeans, gave hours of infinite delight to many children back when smartphones and other gadgets were still unheard of. Basically, you may inflate these paper balls when ready to play and then deflate them for storage after playing.
There are no restrictions when it comes to paper balls. This is an entertaining yet easy way to let your creativity run wild by making your own games, whether sitting, standing, or even lying down.
Brain Games to Boost Memory and Cognitive Function
If the elderly in the family have limited mobility, you can choose sit-down activities that are fun, challenging, and brain-boosting.
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Card Games
There is nothing quite like a deck of cards in terms of adaptability and portability. According to the National Institute on Aging, strategic card games, including the most popular card games, can accomplish much more than bringing people together for a good time.
Card games are considered brain games; they improve memory and focus, slowing cognitive aging in older people. Speed and attention-demanding card games can help you hone your fundamental motor and sensory abilities.
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Jigsaw Puzzles
Completing jigsaw puzzles can be immensely peaceful and satisfying. Apart from its therapeutic benefits, doing a jigsaw puzzle boosts thinking skills and benefits seniors with dementia and memory loss. Moreover, these puzzles are considered by many as among the best brain games. Plus, they can have a soothing effect on players, like art therapy.
Both hemispheres of the brain are actively engaged when solving puzzles because they involve both the logical and creative sides of the brain. This can dramatically enhance one’s visual recognition and short-term memory.
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Chess
Due to their strategic character, board games like chess are among the hardest brain games out there, but they also provide a number of advantages that help seniors’ problem-solving abilities. The brain functions slow down when it is not exercised frequently.
Chess increases memory retention and brain capacity, giving seniors beneficial mental activity. According to several studies, seniors who actively and regularly play mentally demanding games like chess can reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other memory issues.
Final Words
No matter what games you choose for the family’s senior members, make sure that you make it a habit. Seniors will benefit from the process by becoming more mentally, socially, and physically engaged. Be patient, especially when your loved ones have already developed memory problems and other health issues.
If you can’t take care of them, you can always get a reliable elderly caregiver Singapore from RC Caregivers. We have the capacity, staff, and equipment to make your loved ones’ lives comfortable, fun, and physically and mentally active.
