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Tips for Keeping Elderly Minds Active, Brain Exercises for Seniors
How to Keep Elderly Minds Active (Delay or Avoid Dementia)
Dementia is an illness that is also known as a major neurocognitive disorder. This condition affects one’s memory, and it is common to people age 60 or above. Moreover, this is most likely to occur in females. People with dementia have tended to forget things easily. They cannot retain information in their mind for a long time. Others who have a severe case need a lot of assistance to function. This disorder is daunting because it can affect several factors in one’s life. It will make you lose your memory subconsciously which is alarming. With this, keeping elderly minds active by having brain exercises for seniors is the best thing to do as it can help prevent dementia.
Causes of Dementia
Now, let us move forward and know if what are the causes of this illness, dementia. Why did this most like occur to seniors? Listed below are three of the common causes of dementia.
1. Through genetics
This disorder can get through genetics, and it is proven. Someone who has a family history with dementia will tend to have this illness in their senior years. However, if practicing brain exercises for seniors, then, you can delay or even prevent it.
2. Cancer
A brain tumor is one of the most common causes why someone has dementia. It can thoroughly affect the memory of a person. There are ways to extend your life if you have a tumor in the brain. However, no one can assure if things can go back to normal, especially if the case is severe.
3. Unhealthy lifestyle
Not having a healthy lifestyle will affect your whole being. It can damage you mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. If you are the kind of person who always drinks alcohol, does not have enough vitamins in the body, and does not take good care of yourself; then, you will have an illness that can even affect your brain.
Stop doing things that can damage your memory. Your brain can have clumps of protein which will lead you to dementia.
Symptoms of Dementia
This condition is like other illnesses which show symptoms at first. It can be mild, moderate, or even severe. It is crucial to know the usual signs of dementia.
1. Behavioral changes
The changes in the behavior of someone like mood swings, lack of emotions, getting easily confused, and more are examples of symptoms of dementia. These changes most likely occur before having a memory loss.
2. Logical Thinking
If someone often has trouble solving simple problems, organizing tasks, and even making plans, it can be dementia. One should be aware of this thing as it is crucial to use our logical thinking because it can help avoid dementia. Moreover, it is one of the best brain exercises for seniors.
3. Communication problem
People who always have problems communicating by not knowing how to respond or choosing the appropriate words to say might be diagnosed with dementia. You must be mindful of your communication, and you should monitor yourself. This sign is one of the most visible symptoms of dementia.
Ways on keeping elderly minds active
1. Play board games
Playing board games such as chess, scrabble, dama, and more can serve as good brain exercises for seniors. These mind sport games will help the elders to think critically and will promote more proper brain use. With this in mind, it can help them more to delay from having an illness, dementia.
Did you know that people who tend to play board games a lot have a lesser probability of having memory loss? Being a critical thinker is one of the most needed skills to win a board game. It also helps to be good at solving logical problems.
Board games increase the function of the brain. It is vital to play this kind of mind game at least five times a week to exercise our brain. Keep in mind that you are not wasting time playing board games because it can help to make you be more strategic.
Play this game with your family to promote more increased function in the brain and make them critical thinkers themselves. This hobby will surely help to prevent them from having dementia in their senior years.
2. Live healthily
Elders often regret not taking good care of themselves when they were young because now they are more vulnerable to illnesses. One cannot go back to the past and change themselves by living healthily. But, of course, we can still fix that by having some physical activities!
There are various physical activities that we can do to be healthy! Playing physical sports, doing house chores, and dancing are some examples of physical activities that you can do. It can help someone not just have a healthier body; it can also help to improve someone’s brain health.
Furthermore, avoid eating foods with saturated fat as it can be a reason to develop dementia. It is because foods like cheese, mayonnaise, dark chocolate, and processed meat are sources of saturated fat. To let you know, eating obsessively of the food mentioned can clog the brain vessels.
Keeping elderly citizens’ minds active is not easy but, there are ways to get through it. One should start to live healthily at a young age. It is because you cannot get diagnosed with illnesses immediately.
3. Cut off unessential things
Other people will say that they have a healthy lifestyle, because they have physical activities, and eat healthy foods. However, others have a cheat day where they drink alcohol, smoke, and eat anything they want. If you are still doing this kind of thing, you still have a chance to be vulnerable to illnesses especially, dementia.
When you want to change, there are sacrifices that you need to make. Others might ask if one day a week of being free from having a healthy lifestyle is too much? Well, the thing is that when you are living healthily, you do it every day, not just when you feel to do it.
4. Learn new things
Did you know that if you always use your brain to explore new things, it will help you to delay dementia? There are several ways to prevent this disorder, and one of them is learning new things. If you have a lot of free time, this is perfect for you.
Well, you might be wondering if what are new things that you can learn? Look around you, and think if everything around you is something that you know very well. Do you know how to play guitar? Or how about doing some art crafts? Do you know how to make dresses?
There are various things that we can learn. We can learn everything for free. We are just one swipe away from the internet, where there are instructions on how to do the things that we thought we are not able to do.
Learning new things helps in keeping elderly minds busy and active. It increases the function of the brain by making them delay having a chronic illness. These brain exercises for seniors are helpful because they physically benefit from them.
5. Have a free time!
Never overwhelm yourself as it can give you an undesirable effect too. Learn how to rest after a long day of doing things that keep your brain active. Yes, you do not want to have dementia but, it does not mean that you should make your brain active the whole day.
Resting is vital because your mental batteries get recharged when you sleep. It simply means that you will have more energy for the next day. Moreover, what is better is that it can help you to be more productive.
It is best to have an organized planner because you will track what you are doing every day. This planner will also help to maintain your seven to nine hours of sleep. Remember, sleep or taking a rest is related to health so, we must not neglect it.
Furthermore, sleeping reduces anxiety which is one of the symptoms of dementia. Never belittle sleeping or taking a rest because it affects your health and how you do things. If someone does not have an adequate amount of sleep, it might result in impaired memory which is worse.
Conclusion
This chronic illness has no cure at all but, it can be delayed or avoided. To follow the ways stated above, one should have enough discipline, dedication, and determination to do them. Dementia can be severe, and having it is not easy as you will lose your memory, and just like any other thing, there are ways to get through it.
In addition, as we all know, this kind of disorder most likely occurs in seniors. Moreover, with this, we should keep our brain active at a young age to prevent having it when we get into our 60s. However, if you have dementia, never lose hope because you will increase the function of your brain by doing several logical kinds of stuff; your dementia case will not get severe. Keeping elderly minds active is necessary.
