Playing games is a great way to spend time with an elderly loved one. Next time you visit your grandparents or elderly parents, or they attend a family get-together, suggest turning the event into a game night.
Here are four new and interesting game ideas that everyone is sure to enjoy.
This game revolves around a buzzword – let’s say “ball” for example. Each team has forty-five seconds to solve ten clues, with the answers all containing the buzzword in them.
In this case, the clue “inflatable sand toy” would have the answer “beach ball” and “on top of spaghetti” would have the answer “meatball.” This is a fun, fast-paced game for the family, and has won numerous awards, including one for intergenerational play. (4 or more players)
This ‘what’s your favorite thing’ game requires players to guess each other’s likes and dislikes. It’s fun to play both amongst people that know each other well, and even those that don’t (a distant cousin in town perhaps?).
Everyone is pretty much guaranteed to learn some new and interesting things about each other along the way! The person whoonu (“who knew”) the most right answers scores the most points and wins the game. (3 – 6 players)
In this game, which has won numerous awards including the Mensa Select award, players don’t need to know the answers to win! Players win by placing smart bets on the other players’ answers.
Everyone starts by writing down their guesses to difficult-to-answer questions such as, “In inches, how tall is the Oscar statuette?” Next, they each bet on what they consider to be the best guess. Those who place the smartest bets, win. This game incorporates the fun of gambling in a safe, family-fun way. (3 – 7 players)
This is a unique card game meant to invoke creativity and story-telling in the players. Each card contains its own beautiful imagery.
The “storyteller” begins with by providing a brief description of one of their cards. All other players must then select one of their own cards that they feel best fits the description and add them to a pile, which includes the storyteller’s original card. These cards are revealed and players must then guess which is the original card.
Points are allocated based on how everyone places their bet; therefore it is important that the “storyteller” is clear in their description without being too explicit.
Next time you’re with grandma, try one of these fun games. “Whoonu,” game night might just turn into a regular occurrence:).
As the brain ages, it becomes all the more important to keep it active and healthy.
While there currently is no known method to prevent or avoid cognitive degradation or Alzheimer's disease with certainty, research has uncovered a number of strategies for coping with the natural changes that the aging brain undergoes.
The good news about head-healthy foods is that they tend to be relatively tasty! Blueberries and other fruits contain antioxidants that help clean out the brain and improve neurotransmission, while nuts like walnuts and almonds contain omega-3s which can lower inflammation and so extend the life of nerve cells.
Fibrous foods like whole grain oats can also help clean out the plaque in the arteries that feed the brain, and a combination of these healthy snacks, instead of candy or other sugary snack foods, can help lower blood sugar levels. Healthy blood, in turn, promotes the proper functioning of nerve cells.
Everyone loves music, and it can even challenge and stimulate the brain. If your loved one combines it with dancing, so much the better! This, besides being great exercise, uses parts of the brain that govern spatial and motor functions, while challenging it with new skills and movements.
Speaking of exercise, studies have shown that just walking 20-30 minutes can stimulate the brain and lower blood sugar.
Instead of just using a treadmill, though, encourage your loved one to get out of the house and explore their neighborhood or better yet, new neighborhoods. This keeps the mind fresh by presenting it with a constant stream of new places and activities to discover and process.
Senior volunteering can be great for your older family member’s health.
For maximum brain benefit, seniors should join volunteering activities that challenge them to remember facts and figures and to communicate these to others.
Volunteering as a tour guide can, in many ways, be an ideal way to do this. If it involves a good amount of exercise in the form of walking, too, so much the better.
Simply making an effort to reorganize the world around them can have a positive impact on your loved ones' mental health. Try to get them involved in planning their own day. You can help them do this with calendars and other time management tools.
It can also be a great idea to simply redecorate the home from time to time. This will exercise the brain by making it process space, color, and other relationships, while helping your loved one take control over their environment.
Games and puzzles provide a classic challenge for the mind. In many cases, too, they're social and fun.
If your loved one feels comfortable with digital technology, you shouldn't discount video games, either, as they can provide puzzles based on timing and hand-eye coordination that traditional games cannot so easily provide.
Stress feeds the brain with chemicals that inhibit nerve growth.
Getting enough sleep, or even trying meditation, can be key strategies in reducing stress.
If you're loved one seems to be stressed out, you can also recommend relaxing activities like taking a bath or getting a massage. You can also give them tulsi or ginseng tea, both of which help prevent the production of the stress hormone, cortisol.
Sleep plays an important role in supporting a healthy lifestyle, and it becomes no less important as we age.
Aging may bring about changes in patterns of sleep, however.
Many of these changes come about due to a natural reduction of melatonin, one of the key internal regulators of sleep. This may lead to fragmented sleep, or, as melatonin levels rise and fall in new patterns over the 24-hour cycle, earlier times for both waking in the morning and going to bed at night.
Older adults, of course, may also develop sleep problems that have nothing to do with aging. These can have a variety of causes and may emerge in the form of a general sleepiness throughout the day, ongoing feelings of irritability, or even an inability to avoid dozing off at unexpected or inappropriate times.
All of these would suggest that your loved one is not getting enough sleep at night – but may not even realize it. They may also be unable to sleep at night even though they feel exhausted. If either of these are the case, it may be worth consulting a doctor.
Even the normal difficulties that people face in trying to fall asleep can result in stress and ill health. Here are a few natural remedies to suggest to your elderly loved one to help address any sleep issues.
Daily habits surrounding sleep may be the most important thing in promoting or hindering rest. Make sure your elderly parent or grandparent goes to bed at regular hours and sleeps in a quiet, isolated, and dark environment. (Going to bed while watching TV, which many of us are guilty of, is definitely to be avoided.)
Also, it's important your loved one avoids alcohol or stimulants like coffee too close to bedtime. For best results, it helps if they incorporate some exercise into their routine, particularly aerobic exercises.
Meditation can help relax the body and mind, reduce stress, and help make it easier to sleep. In many cases, it may also improve the overall quality of sleep. If religious, most traditions offer their followers some form of meditation or contemplative prayer.
Of course, meditation doesn't need to be a religious activity, it can also be pursued in any number of secular contexts.
Simply changing the smell of your loved one’s bedroom may actually make sleep easier and more restful. Most commonly used are lavender, chamomile, and ylang ylang.
Perhaps the easiest way to get started with aromatherapy is to simply put lavender in a sachet under the pillow. Lavender can also be mixed into a bath before bed, with the added benefit that the bath itself may help your loved one relax and go to sleep.
Herbal remedies are as popular as they are ancient, but it’s still important to exercise caution when using them. Just because they are natural, they do not always benefit one’s health, and they may be marketed and/or consumed in doses that can even be harmful.
That said, herbal remedies, such as chamomile and valerian, may improve overall sleep and help your loved one feel refreshed in the morning, more relaxed, and healthier. Such herbal extracts often claim to target the melatonin levels in the brain — the very thing that drops in old age — and are best taken over an extended period of time and under the supervision of a doctor.
As people age, everyday tasks, such as staying in touch with family members, remembering to take medication and even tying shoelaces can become difficult. However, with the new products and technology available today, this needn't be the case.
There are a myriad of products on the market that help make seniors’ lives easier. Here are six products - some new, some have been around for a while - designed to promote independence, good health and social connection.
No matter what your loved one needs, chances are, there is some kind of solution for it! Products and technology have come a long way and can play an important role in your facilitating your loved one's lifestyle.
Note: Tandem Lane does not specifically endorse any of the above-mentioned products, nor does it profit from your purchase of them.
Father's Day is just around the corner! While we usually honor our fathers, it's important not to forget another important father-figure in our lives: our grandfathers.
They spoil us and love us while also guiding us in a way that's different from how our fathers do. So don't forget grandpa when you're planning for this special day.
Here are five ways you can show your grandfather that you love him and that he's an important father-figure in your life too.
Whatever you decide to do for your grandfather this Father's Day, make sure it's something that shows him just how much he means to you.