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Health & Fitness

Brain Games for Seniors

The normal activities of seniors should not be restricted to walking, watching television, or reading a newspaper. Seniors should participate in games that can revive brain cells and improve the efficiency to a large extent. 

Family and friends of seniors should make it a point to remind them of past events or keep prodding them with questions related to their childhood. This exercise can make a remarkable difference on the memory of seniors. Some of the brain games for seniors that are easily accessible include daily crosswords, Sudoku puzzles, and Kakuro puzzles.

When you use your imagination, you exercise your brain. Curiosity is one of the most stimulating exercises for the brain according to the Franklin Institute. You can stimulate the imagination just by thinking while you're out for your daily walk. Imagine how you would landscape your neighbor's yard, or try to guess the names of flowers, shrubs or plants you see.

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You can also exercise your mind using neurobics. Neurobics are exercises that develop and enhance the five senses. For example, try buttoning your shirt or tying your shoes with your eyes closed. Try eating or using the computer mouse with your non-dominant hand. “Try eating a meal with a partner or friend without talking, only utilizing visual cues and gestures to express yourself or your wishes,” suggests Lawrence Katz, professor of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center.

Discover new skills or knowledge though reading books from your local library. “Engage the mind by learning a new language or hobby or craft,” suggests Patricia Grady, PhD., Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research, a component of the National Institutes of Health. “Learning new skills or exercises can help to increase the brain's processing speed and engage cognitive thinking processes and skills.”

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Brain games that offer amusement as well as enhanced reasoning speed and capabilities may be found for free on the Internet. Memory games, math games, and word games help to increase reasoning skills and potential. Such games can be found by typing in "Free brain games" into your favorite search engine. Many popular brain fitness websites offer a limited number of free games to the public that are easy to access on a daily basis.

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