Simple Memory Care Activities for Seniors
Engaging with aging loved ones experiencing memory challenges can be difficult for many families, especially in close relationships. However, memory care activities can help seniors and their loved ones connect on a different level with new experiences. These activities don’t have to be complicated, but their benefits can be immense.
The Benefits of Memory Care Activities for Seniors
Maintaining memory isn’t the only benefit of memory care activities for seniors. Instead, all parties can gain something from the experience. Several benefits of simple memory care activities include:
- Can potentially lower the risk of dementia, stroke, heart disease, and some forms of cancer
- Connects seniors to their communities
- Improves mood and quality of life
- Stimulates physical activity
If you’d like to incorporate memory care activities into your or your aging loved one’s routine, the following list can help. Memory care also begins at an early age, so maintaining your brain health in your younger years can help set you up for success later in life.
6 Simple Memory Care Activities Perfect for Seniors
Memory care activities don’t have to be confusing or require a pencil and paper to solve a problem. Instead, supporting memory health often results in exercising the brain and stimulating thoughts to create lasting impressions.
1. Learning a New Language
It’s never too late to learn a new language, even if you never get to a fluent level. Instead, it’s a new way to look at life and understand the world around us.
2. Watching Movies
Watching movies can help seniors dissociate from their lives for a moment and enter into a storyline. Seniors who watch a movie with their loved ones can also participate in discussions afterward to discuss broad themes and perhaps what they would have done in the various situations presented in the movie.
3. Music Therapy
Although the world may slow us down a bit as we age, there’s nothing like the sound of music to connect us all. Music therapy can help seniors manage their moods and even associate happy thoughts with a particular set of lyrics or beats.
4. Board Games
Playing board games challenges the mind and keeps seniors on their toes. Play your favorite board game with your aging loved one and see how your skills stack up.
5. Crafting and Using a Memory Box
Memory boxes are a great way to recall past events without relying solely on pictures or stories. Instead, you can use the items within the memory box to recall specific elements. Sometimes, these are more compelling than spoken words.
6. Expressing Yourself Creatively
Creative pursuits vary nearly as much as our personalities. In expressing yourself creatively, you might paint, garden, crochet, knit, throw pottery, or even take photos.
Visiting Angels White Plains: Caring for Seniors with Memory Loss
Caring for a loved one with memory loss can be challenging, especially as it progresses. The critical thing to remember is that you’re not alone. Visiting Angels White Plains caregivers and staff take pride in helping local seniors and their families and offer the following resources:
- How to Respond When Loved Ones with Dementia are Confused
- Spotting Anxiety and Depression in Seniors with Memory Disorders
- Paranoia in the Elderly
- Understanding the Seven Stages of Alzheimer’s
- GPS Tracking for Seniors With Dementia
Contact us to learn more about our senior home care services and how our caregivers can help you and your aging loved one. Our care staff work to connect you with the resources you need so you can experience the best quality of life possible.