Brain Exercises for Dementia

Dementia, a condition affecting the brain, causes loss in memory and thinking skills. Dementia gets worse over time. The key is slowing down progression of this condition. One way to do this is to engage those with dementia in mentally stimulating brain exercises. Exercising your brain throughout your life is beneficial if you succumb to dementia. After your loved one has dementia, the trick is finding the right activities so your loved one keeps functioning at the highest possible level.

Predementia

• According to a study published in the August 4, 2009, issue of Neurology, people who devote effort to activities that exercise the brain, such as reading, writing, and playing card games, may delay the rapid memory decline that occurs if they later develop dementia. The study found that for every activity a person participated in, the onset of rapid memory loss in dementia was delayed by 0.18 years.

  "The point of accelerated decline was delayed by 1.29 years for the person who participated in 11 activities per week compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week," said study author Charles B. Hall, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. This means start engaging in activities that exercise your brain.

Best Exercises

• It is best to involve yourself with a variety of activities that challenge you in different ways.You want to enjoy yourself but at the same time make your brain work. Crossword puzzles and other word games are good. If that is your strong suit, try simple activities that are difficult for you. When you have dementia, this will be difficult.The trick is to challenge yourself in different ways.
  Different mental exercises build up different parts of your brain, and that allows you to have the best mental functioning possible. Exercise your brain in five areas. They include memory, language, motor skills, problem solving and visual skills. You can buy books that include skills in all these areas. Alternately, go to the library or go online.

Dementia Brain Exercises

• You want activities grabbing the attention of the person with dementia. Ideally the activities bring a smile to his face and boost his confidence. You want to establish a routine so doing mentally stimulating activities will be a daily occurrence.
  One activity that most people with dementia enjoy is music. Music is a powerful tool. When your loved one with dementia sings a song, he remembers the lyrics. He uses his language skills. Familiar music stimulates long forgotten memories. Many songs sooth the agitated person with dementia.
  Another mental exercise your loved one with dementia is sure to enjoy is interacting with children especially babies or animals. Again this activity brings back happy memories. Researchers at Oxford University have done a study to find out why we react in such a positive way to babies. Oxford researchers Morton Kringelbach and Alan Stein determined the response must be instinctual.
  If you do not have a real baby available, pictures of babies are almost as good.