Memory Boosting Games: Fact or Fiction?
Seniors with Alzheimer’s or dementia need activities that improve memory. The diseases affect the brain and cause the patient to forget how to complete daily tasks. They cause the patients to regress mentally over the years until they reach the stages of infancy and lie in a fetal position. The first sign of the disease is becoming forgetful and slowly losing all the skills they learned throughout their lives. By playing games that boost memory, patients could retain their memory for longer.
Sudoku or Crossword Puzzles
Sudoku and crossword puzzles are challenging options that test memory. Sudoku requires basic math skills to determine the placement of the numbers one through nine within the puzzle. It requires the patients to perform simple calculations.
Crossword puzzles are solved according to the total number of letters in the answer. A patient that completes the puzzles often can remember common answers for the question or clue. They can choose different types of puzzles based on their interests. The puzzles test the patient’s memory, and they must remember the answers. Families can learn more about Alzheimer’s and dementia care and how games help by contacting an assisted living facility now.
Chess or Checkers
Chess and checkers are fun and entertaining games that involve cognitive skills. Patients must use their memory to remember how to play the games and perform strategic moves on the boards. Checkers is simpler than chess, but the game can test the memory and help patients stay focused on each step. Chess is far more challenging, and the patient must remember more complex rules to make moves.
Complete Jigsaw Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles are great choices for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. They must review the picture on the puzzle box and figure out what pieces fit together to recreate the image. It takes several days to complete larger puzzles, and it could give a senior a new hobby. Once they complete their puzzles, seniors could affix the completed puzzle to cardboard and frame it. The reward, in the end, could keep the patient motivated to complete the jigsaw puzzles.
Digital or Online Games
Digital or online games are fun and improve a person’s memory. The type of game determines how challenging it is. For example, they could choose word search, spelling games, or even games that allow them to build communities. Patients can complete the games to boost their memory and improve their cognitive skills.
Skilled Card Games
Card games that require strategic steps and rules help patients work on their cognitive skills, too. Some card games are fun to play with their children or grandchildren. Many seniors love card games and maybe more inclined to play. More complex card games challenge memory and help patients regain cognitive skills. As Alzheimer’s and dementia progress, it becomes harder for the patient to retain information. By playing games such as poker or gin rummy, the patients could complete each step and slow down the progression of the diseases.
Patients with progressive diseases such as Alzheimer’s experience profound memory loss. As the diseases reach advanced stages, the patients will forget who they are as well as who their family members are. Before they reach these stages, it is important for them to complete activities that improve their memory and allow them to retain information. Games that challenge memory are the best options for these patients, and the games improve cognitive skills.
