WITH THE KIDS back in school for another year, Senior Helpers recommends including a backpack of fun items for grandparents and seniors so they have things which help keep themselves sharp and offset potential effects of dementia or Alzheimer’s.
With schools across Clark County back in session for another year, the US Census Bureau reported in June, 2011, the number of children who live with a grandparent has increased 64 percent over the past 20 years. Because seniors have had to take a more active role in raising and supporting children, they may sometimes have little opportunity to having a more active or engaging lifestyle.
Senior Helpers, one of the largest in-home senior care companies in the nation, is helping local families create “Back-to-School Backpacks” for seniors to have activities and other information to help them stay active and mentally sharp.
“Families have become so busy they can forget to include their elderly loved ones in all the activities,” said Senior Helpers CEO and co-founder Peter Ross. “Studies show that without stimulating activity, seniors can lose memory, feel depressed and isolated, and have a higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Among the suggested things to include are hand-held computer games or crossword puzzles, books, magazines, a deck of cards and items that a respective senior is interested in like gardening seeds or arts and crafts projects.
“The nice thing about the backpack is you can customize it to every individual’s likes,” said Norm Harris, owner and director of Senior Helpers’ Vancouver office. “By including those things, it can help stimulate positive memories and also gives a senior things they’ll enjoy doing to keep them occupied.”
Harris adds that in the last five years, there’s been a 15 percent increase in households that had three generations or more living in them.
“With so many members of the family having to do so many different things, especially when school starts, seniors can often find themselves outside the fold, so it’s important for them to still feel like they have a role and are part of the family,” Harris said.
According to recent Mayo Clinic data, seniors who engage in cognitive activities, play games, or participate in crafts and hobbies, have a 30-50 percent decrease in memory loss. Research also shows that seniors should take part in group activities like games played for stimulation, rather than competition.
Bingo has been a long-time favorite game of seniors and studies have shown it’s also highly therapeutic for those with cognitive disorders. People in a study by the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia performed slightly better on cognitive tests and showed an increase in alertness and awareness even hours after testing.
Puzzle games like Smart Brain can provide stimulation to cognitive functions like attention span and memory, according to the Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. Their study showed improved cognition in elderly Alzheimer’s patients.
Another game that can be beneficial to those with Alzheimer’s is Qwirkle, a game that lets players score points for matching tiles of similar colors and shapes. It allows flexibility for players to play either by the printed rules or as a strategy game, and can later help with color and pattern matching.
Classic board games like Monopoly, the Game of Life and Clue are also recommended as they provide colorful playing surfaces for seniors to identify, and objects that can be handled, like dice, money, cards, tokens, etc.
Even video games are encouraged for seniors to try out as some have hit the market in recent years, like Brain Age for Nintendo’s portable DS system, which provides unique exercises and challenges that can help with cognitive thinking and problem-solving.
“Games of all levels, from low-tech to high-tech, can help dementia patients,” says Ross. “We stress that seniors should decide which games they want to play, whether they’re games they played as a child or games they played with their own children. This stimulates familiar memories which keep the brain sharp.”
Other strategies seniors can use to stay mentally sharp with age can also help them live more overall healthy lives.
Recent studies have revealed that heavy smoking during middle age can double the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia over the following 20 years. Excessive drinking (more than 3-5 drinks per day) is associated with a higher risk of dementia and cognitive impairment. Conversely, moderate drinkers are 23 percent less likely to develop dementia.
For middle-aged men, it’s recommended they consume no more than two drinks per day, and for women, only one.
Eating a healthy diet and controlling cholesterol issues and high blood pressure will also lower the risk of cognitive decline and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s as a senior.
Regular exercise and everyday physical activity is also essential for maintaining consistent blood flow to the brain and reducing the onset of dementia.
Senior Helpers connects professional caregivers with seniors who wish to live at home as opposed to a nursing or assisted living facility. The company has nearly 300 franchises in 40 states and offers a wide range of personal and companion care services with a strong focus on quality of life for their clients and peace of mind for their families.
More information can be found at www.seniorhelpers.com/swwashington or by calling (360) 836-0499. Senior Helpers’ Vancouver office is located at 1105 NE 14th St., Ste. 104.
