Great Activity Ideas to Prevent Dementia

There are many elderly people in the UK that suffer
from dementia, with around 850,000 people over 80 that have mental issues such
as Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, and what’s more, 70% of the individuals
staying in UK care homes also suffer from mental impairment. It is important to
remain mentally active in your later years, and with that in mind, here are a
few useful activities to keep you in good shape mentally.

  • Physical Exercise – The older we get, the
    less likely we are to exercise and it is vital that you receive adequate
    physical exercise. If you don’t feel like working out, a brisk country walk
    every morning is a good start, and there are aerobic exercises that you can do
    that will get your blood pumping. While you might think that physical exercise
    has little to with the brain, it is essential that your body gets a good
    workout.
  • Use it or Lose it – This is a phrase that
    best describes your mental capacities, so you should do crossword puzzles or
    other mental activities on a regular basis. Learning new things is always a
    good idea, as this keeps the brain forming new neuron connections, and if you
    have friends, why not organise quiz evenings? Learning new things can include how
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  • Talk About the Past – Talking about the past
    is a great way to give the long-term memory a workout, as we have to use our
    brain to recall past events, and when a group of elderly people get together,
    it is a lot of fun to remember the old days. Old photos can really jog a
    person’s memory, so when you have friends round for tea, ask them to bring
    their old photo albums and you can reminisce the good times. If you are worried
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  • Read a Good Book – This is a great way to
    stimulate the mind, so use your local library to source your favourite novels
    and spend a little time every day reading. Reading makes you use your
    imagination, as you try to imagine the scene, which is much better for your
    brain that watching a movie, as you do not have images to help you picture the
    scene.
  • Arts & Crafts – Making things is
    another great way to exercise your mind; knitting is a very popular activity,
    which makes you concentrate on what you are doing. If you are looking for
    suitable arts and crafts, an online search will reveal many fun things you can
    make, and many of them don’t cost money, as you can use old things such as
    carton packaging and cardboard.
  • Music Therapy – There’s nothing more
    relaxing than listening to your favourite music, and with the latest
    technology, it is very easy to create MP3 playlists, and if you are not IT
    savvy, ask one of your children to do this for you.

It is very important to stay busy, both mentally and
physically, and with that in mind, here is some information from the UK government about mental health, which is a must read for
anyone over the age of 50.