How Games Can Help Memory Retention
Games are a great way to bond with family, friends, or even by yourself. They enable laughter and togetherness, as well as some friendly competition. In addition, they can strengthen the brain. Chess, jigsaw puzzles, and Sudoku are games that challenge the mind. In addition, board games such as Monopoly, Clue, and Catan can also test memory. In this article, we'll explore the reasons why games help with memory retention and the best games to play if you are trying to work out your brain.
The Brain Needs Regular Use to Stay Sharp
Like any muscle, the brain needs to be worked on to stay strong. Even though educational tasks such as schoolwork or critical thinking strengthen our brains, as we get older these tasks become more difficult. Games help with this. Games such as Scrabble and jigsaw puzzles are easily accessible to seniors and can help them maintain their memory.
Playing Scrabble challenges the brain to find new words and to recall words it has learned previously. It has been proven that jigsaw puzzles strengthen brain connections, improve mental speed, and boost short-term memory. Since jigsaw puzzles take a while to complete, they put the brain to work day after day.
Stimulates Complex Thoughts
Many games require a bit of thinking to succeed. Trivia board games, for instance, require players to think about the question and come up with a correct answer. Answering the trivia question correctly means moving forward in the game, thus motivating the player to get it right.
Board games such as Clue require players to think of specific scenarios to reach a conclusion. The clue in the game encourages deductive reasoning, which leads to critical thinking. Games like these help encourage complex thoughts, which benefits memory.
Helps Gray Matter in Brain Expand
The amount of gray matter in a person's brain increases when they play video games. Muscle control, sensory perception, memory function, and emotion are all controlled by the gray matter in the brain. People often think of violent video games such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto when they hear the word 'video game'. However, this is not the case. Many video games are appropriate for seniors. According to Aging Greatly, “The number of gamers who are senior adults increased from 40.2 million in 2016 to 50.6 million in 2019.” The site also listed some video games that are suitable for seniors to enjoy.
Wordscapes is a video game suitable for seniors. Wordscapes is a virtual game that combines crossword puzzles and word searches. The goal of the game is to create as many words as possible using the letters provided. This is a great way to challenge the brain and strengthen memory. Wii Sports is another great game for seniors. Playing WII Sports will test your hand-eye coordination while working out.
You can play games for fun and retain memory at the same time. There are many games that can strengthen the brain and can be played alone or with others. Seniors can socialize and learn at the same time by participating in these games. Our caregivers at Visiting Angels Farmington enjoy playing games with their clients. Games are a great way to keep their brains active and spend time together. To learn more about our home care services, please call us at 573-664-1722 for a complimentary care assessment.