Memory loss and cognitive impairment are typical in senior stroke survivors. A good way to help your senior loved one restore brain function and boost skills after a stroke is to add cognitive exercises to his or her recovery routine. Below you’ll find excellent brain activities for a senior to do after a stroke and the benefits of each exercise.
Brain Games
Cognitive exercises should challenge logic skills and memory in addition to providing enjoyment that can boost mental health. Solving word puzzles and playing board and card games are great ways to exercise the brain during the stroke recovery process. Puzzles and games require your loved one to connect different letters, sounds, shapes, sizes, and more. Some of the best brain-boosting games for senior stroke survivors are:
• Word searches
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Card games
• Chess
• Scrabble
• Checkers
An in-home caregiver can be the perfect game-playing partner for your loved one. Seniors can face a variety of age-related challenges. Though some families choose to take on the caregiving duties, there may come a time when they need a trusted home care service provider. Families sometimes need respite from their duties so they can focus on their other responsibilities, and some seniors need around-the-clock assistance that their families are not able to provide. Home Care Assistance is here to help.
Food Exercises
Challenging your loved one’s taste buds could strengthen his or her cognitive health after a stroke. Prepare different dishes and encourage your loved one to guess as many ingredients as possible. Since strokes often damage the mouth muscles and make it difficult to swallow and chew, you should use soft foods for this guessing game. You can also add herbs and spices to the soups or pureed meals to give your loved one a cognitive challenge without increasing mouth pain and soreness. If your loved one is able, have him or her write down the answers to increase hand muscle strength.
Certain age-related conditions can make it more challenging for seniors to age in place safely and comfortably, but Richmond live-in care experts are available around the clock to help seniors manage their health. Whether your loved one is living with dementia or recovering from a stroke, you can trust the professional live-in caregivers from Home Care Assistance to enhance his or her quality of life.
Dancing
Strokes affect movement as well as the way seniors understand, organize, and store information. However, physical activities such as dancing can boost brain function and lower the risk of memory loss following a stroke. Whether your loved one dances at home with you and other family members or joins a senior-friendly dance class as a part of physical therapy, the exercise could increase mental coordination and reduce many of the neurological symptoms associated with strokes. While completing dance moves, your loved one will be stimulating the regions in the brain responsible for the way he or she thinks, feels, and moves.
Drawing from Memory
Instead of giving your parent pictures to trace or books to color in, have him or her draw from memory. This cognitive exercise allows your loved one to be creative, and drawing different people and objects stimulates various areas of the brain, including those that were damaged due to the stroke. After you’ve driven your loved one to a doctor’s appointment or therapy session, ask him or her to draw the things or places he or she saw while riding in the car. This cognitive exercise can strengthen thinking skills and the ability to focus.
Professional caregivers can be an incredibly valuable source of support for senior stroke survivors and their families. If your elderly loved one needs help maintaining a high quality of life while aging in place, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a trusted provider of Richmond senior home care. Our caregivers provide transportation to and from medical appointments and social events, nutritious meal preparation, assistance with daily exercise, and help with everyday tasks like bathing, grooming, and light housekeeping. Call one of our friendly Care Managers today at (804) 207-4746.