Where Can I Get Free Online Brain Games for Seniors?: December 2020 New Update
As we age, our brains, just like other parts of our bodies, will age and slow down.
While we have anti-aging products for our skin, there are anti-aging tools to slow down dementia too.
Check out some free online brain games for seniors and learn about the function of our brains today.
I'm the author of this article and I'm a qualified abacus teacher, answering questions from around the world online abacus and various questions from online-soroban.com students.
Table of contents
As we age and acquire experience, a lot can happen with our body but, more importantly, to the brain.
As the years go by, the brain size changes, making us lose some of our cognitive ability.
While the brain is shrinking, we will experience memory loss, a higher risk of stroke, and dementia amidst other issues.
But it is not all doom and gloom, there are ways that senior citizens may use to keep themselves sharp as the years advance, and here we will help you better understand the aging of the brain and how to combat it in simple ways, building fun habits.
1-1.About the Aging Brain and Finding Free Online Brain Games for Seniors
So you’re a senior citizen, living your best life, and want to understand how all this aging business may be affecting you?
To make it brief the brain controls most aspects of thinking -- the way you plan, reminisce, organize, perceive your surroundings, taste, and lots more.
Your cognitive abilities will decide how well you may go about your daily life, perform every task, and how much external help you may need to complete your daily tasks and fulfill your needs.
Your thinking patterns also commonly changed with age.
In the second half of your life, you will experience difficulty recalling names, degradation of your ability to multitask, loss of concentration, difficulty remembering voices.
There are, of course, the positives of aging. Research papers have shown that with age you’re very likely to acquire an expansive vocabulary, better understanding of subjects, a deeper understanding of the meaning of words, a life of acquired skills and knowledge.
How much is lost from the shrinking is something still to be researched by professionals of the area.
Even if the brain shrinks and some cognitive ability is lost, senior citizens can suitably perform tasks, despite the advanced age.
Even though it may be somewhat harder, seniors can learn new skills, make memories, expand their vocabulary, learn a new language, or even try some modern skills, learning a programming language.
1-2.Ways to Slow Down Brain Aging With Free Online Brain Games for Seniors
For senior citizens between the ages of 55 and 75 years, games such as crosswords, Super Mario Brothers, and the abacus have shown potential in slowing the loss of cognitive ability and even reducing the chance of Alzheimer's disease.
The studies have shown an increase in gray matter in the participants' hippocampus after regular use of brain games.
What is the role of the hippocampus, you may ask? It is the region of the brain that deals with spatial and episodic memory, that one moment in the beach where you found the most beautiful seashell while you felt the breeze against your skin and the waves breaking in the back of your mind?
The hippocampus will fetch it for you.
Researchers observed that playing a brain game, be it Super Mario Brothers, crosswords, abacus, and games that keep your brain engaged, 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and developing this routine they were able to see interesting changes in brain activity.
The changes were: The prefrontal cortex in charge of planning, inhibition, and decision making.
The cerebellum governs balance, motor control, and the previously mentioned hippocampus, reigning over spatial and episodic memory.
Not only that, but an increase in short-term memory was detected.
There are several games around that may help seniors keep themselves sharp if they can build a habit out of their playtime.
They might notice in a few months that they have an easier time recognizing patterns, a better short-term memory, and a quick wit in their daily life.
We recommend that you give Abacus games a try, as they have proven to keep your brain engaged, assist in cognition, and make it an easier time to visualize problems.
1-3. Free Online Abacus Brain Games for Seniors
If you have a phone or a computer, we have found some games to help you along your journey for a healthier brain and lasting memories.
If you are on Android, you can find the App Online Soroban, a well designed, clean, and beautiful learning tool.
With many problems to solve, small size, optimized for any phone, a helpful interface that makes it a clear solution, with intriguing quizzes and challenging levels.
If you are only now learning about the Abacus but still want something to keep your attention, having Online Soroban on your phone also brings an easy to understand interface too.
It will explain the Abacus basics, make you better at addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using the Abacus in no time.
The simplicity of the App makes it addictive, so building the habit of using it makes it less challenging.
The App comes with numerous self-tests and grading exercises, and with enough repetition, you will notice that your fingers learn so well that they do the problem solving almost on their own!
Online Soroban offers a series of Abacus (Soroban - Japanese Style) challenges that help you understand how to work an Abacus.
But that is not all, as the site comes with a scoring system that will keep you on your toes.
The levels are challenging, and it will hold your attention, as the bottom of the page explains how the beads work, how to position your fingers, and how the system grades your progress throughout the challenges.
Overall
It is clear that with age, a series of problems will affect the brain. However, you do not necessarily need medication to help deal with them.
It is not clear at which rate this change and shrinking happen, and the process that leads to it.
Playing these games and building gaming habits will help you prevent memory degradation.
But if you are concerned with unwanted changes to your memory and thinking, do talk with your doctor.
They can help understand the changes in your thought process, and figure out if the process is normal or an underlying disease.
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