Game therapy benefits the elderly! A great way to keep elderly and seniors’ minds active and healthy is by simply playing games. Daily activities in skilled resident care and assisted living centers provide residents with a multitude of benefits. Game therapy provides the following mental and physical benefits.
Socialization
Staying busy is important for seniors to keep them from feeling lonely. Too often the absence of family and friends can lead to feelings of isolation and depression. Playing cards or board games provides them an opportunity to socialize and make friends. It is also a great opportunity for family members to sit and share quality time and conversation with a loved one.
Cognitive Skills
Cards, board games or other indoor games require cognitive skills such as memory, judgment and reasoning. Games like bingo, hangman and dominos require a great deal of mental flexibility and test a senior’s short-term memory and information retention. Regular stimulation from these types of games exercises the brain and can help fight memory loss.
Coordination and Dexterity
Many table games require coordination and dexterity to pick up and move small pieces such as dice, playing cards, game pieces, and dominos. Use of fine motor skills – coupled with the hand-eye coordination necessary to play the game – is important to the elderly. Other table games we play here regularly are Outburst, Wheel of Fortune and Brain Teasers.
More physical games – such as Tic Tac Throw, Corn Hole and Beach Ball Exercise – which we schedule regularly, promote the use of gross motor skills that elevate the heart rate and increase blood flow.
More Happiness, Less Stress
Participating in games is fun. Along with the socialization comes smiles and laughter. A daily dose of game therapy helps keep our seniors happy and healthy.
Game therapy at Pacific Care Center and The Terrace Assisted Living is carefully integrated into our residents’ daily activities and posted in our monthly Events Calendar.