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When it comes to getting through the current healthcare crisis, you have to stay informed, but it’s also important to keep your mind off the crisis from time to time. A couple ways to do that are to play some brain games or practice a fun and useful skill, these things engage your critical thinking skills and let you have a little fun with those you might be sticking out the “Shelter in Place” policies with.
At Alliance Homecare in New York City, we want to be there for you in every way possible during this crisis. We know that you’re doing your best to help prevent the virus, and the entire Alliance team, from your caregiver to our executives, is going to do our best to help keep your body healthy and your mind sharp in the midst of coronavirus.
The Benefits of Brain Games for Seniors
The benefits of mentally stimulating, thinking, or brain games, whatever you might call them, has been widely debated for a long time. While it’s not clear whether or not they can help slow memory decline, it’s widely agreed that they sharpen certain mental skills that could deteriorate without a little mental exercise. When coupled with exercise, they can do even more. At the very least, you’ll have a little fun and distraction through the coronavirus.
5 Mentally Stimulating Activities For One to Two People
Unfortunately, one of the main features of this crisis has been the need for isolation. Social distancing can make interacting with others hard, but there are a number of things that you can do by yourself, with a family member or your home care caregiver, or over the internet with anyone. If you’re from New York, you can explore our Home Care in NYC to learn more about private nursing care or NY respite care for temporary assistance. Here are some brain games and other games to give yourself a break from coronavirus:
Sudoku — Chances are you’ve at least heard about Sudoku or went through your own phase with it already, but maybe you weren’t thinking about the mental benefits. If you’re feeling bored and don’t have a partner or caregiver to play with, then maybe pick it up again. Finding out you’re not as good as you once were could engage you, and the hours will start to fly by. The game requires many memorization tools, so you can feel good about improving your short-term memory and concentration.
Scrabble or Words With Friends — These two very similar games are a great way to pass the time and build general cognition mental skills, improve vocabulary, and possibly even change the way you read and understand words. The great thing is there are both online and hard Scrabble or Words With Friends options available. If you need help accessing one of them, ask one of our home care caregivers to help you find or order the game.
Cross Something off the Bucket List — Just because we’re limited in our options outside the house doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of everyday. If you’re finding large chunks of the day empty, which would normally be filled with some other activities, then maybe you could take it upon yourself to learn something new. Learning new instruments, languages, or new dances could help engage your mind in a way that sharpens thinking skills and exposes you to new modes of them as well. According to some, they could even help ward off some degenerative diseases.
Create a Feast For Your Brain — Whether you’re a retired chef or someone who’s never boiled water, this could be a great time to reinvigorate your love of cooking, plus, by taking the reins on your own meals you can optimize them for nutrition as well. Cooking engages all the senses, which makes it easy to reach great heights in creative and sometimes critical thinking. While you’re working your mind, focusing on the inexact science of cooking, you can also be conscious of packing your meals with brain food and spices.
Draw a Picture of the Past — Drawing is a way to practice your fine-motor skills, increase hand-eye skills, and possibly maintain the use of your hands later in life. What you draw can also make a difference. Drawing memories of the past or drawing a map from memory could be two great ways to help sharpen recall and improve mental processing times. One thing about this activity is it’s a great way to connect with grandchildren or anyone else you might love enough to share details about your life with.
Stay Active and Mentally Stimulated Through Coronavirus
We hope this list of activities has given our seniors, their loved ones, or anyone else that might be looking for ways to keep their brain stimulated during this time, some ideas to pass the time while ultimately improving their overall health. If you are a patient or their loved one and you have any questions about home health aides in Manhattan, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Alliance Homecare will be with you throughout coronavirus and the “Shelter in Place” order.
