Practical Steps to Help Seniors Keep Their Minds Sharp

Late summer can cause even the most active person to feel sluggish. High temperatures and extreme humidity affect our bodies and our minds. The safest place for seniors in the peak of summer is indoors in the cool air conditioning. However, if left unchecked, seniors can be tempted to sit idly in front of the television as the dog days of summer pass by. 

Seniors need to engage their minds even on the hottest of days. Similar to how our bodies benefit from a variety of physical activities, it’s advantageous to engage our minds in various brain exercises. Pursuing multiple mentally stimulating activities helps protect older adults against mild cognitive impairment and can improve their emotional well-being. 

If you’re a senior who is feeling lethargic due to the heat, here are a few practical steps to help you keep your mind sharp. 

Take Up Journaling 

Recording your thoughts and daily activities have major health benefits. Writing allows us to process and retain information, keeps creativity flowing, and has meditative benefits. It can even improve your mood as you write about gratitude. Before you turn on the television, take five minutes to jot down your thoughts. End your day with gratitude, recording three things about that day for which you are grateful. Journaling engages both hemispheres of the brain and can help seniors manage stress. 

Try One New Mind Activity a Week

There are multiple ways to engage the mind, from word puzzles to creative tasks. Strategic games are fun ways to use logic and skill, especially when playing against an opponent. Word puzzles engage the areas of the brain responsible for memory and recall. Sudoku puzzles exercise mathematical skills and logic. If you want to work multiple areas of the brain, try word jumbles. Word jumbles utilize the frontal lobe to test problem-solving, memory, language, and judgment. Creative tasks involve forethought, planning, patience, and logic. Commit to trying one new mind activity a week to boost your brainpower. 

Vary Where You Engage Your Mind

In addition to pursuing various mind activities, another practical way for seniors to keep their minds sharp is to vary where they engage their minds. It’s easy for seniors to get stuck in a rut. Changing your environment, even if it’s in the same home, encourages your brain to think differently. Different surroundings cause the brain to pay more attention to what’s going on. Choose someplace new to sit and work on a crossword puzzle. Journal in a new location or set up a card table in the guest room to work a jigsaw puzzle.

Mix Up Your Routine 

Similar to varying where you engage your mind, the last practical tip to help seniors keep their minds sharp is to mix up their routines. Our brains often run on autopilot because we do the same thing, in the same way, over and over again. Mixing up your daily routine keeps the brain guessing. It’s not difficult to change things up. Some fun examples that don’t require much effort include brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, reversing the direction you walk around your neighborhood, taking an alternate route to the grocery store, or changing which leg you put into your pants first. 

If you’re a senior who is struggling with your daily routine, Visiting Angels Appleton is here to help. We make it our mission to make the transition to home care assistance as smooth as possible. We work with each client to develop a personalized home care plan to ensure you remain comfortable, engaged, and safe at home. Our compassionate caregivers make wonderful companions for seniors who may be feeling lonely at home. They can help keep your mind sharp by playing games with you or trying a new route during your evening walk. To learn more about our exceptional home care assistance, please contact us today by calling 920-944-8000.