Stroke recovery is all about feeding the brain. While your senior loved one should be taking better care of his or her physical health by eating a nutritious diet and exercising, he or she also needs plenty of cognitive stimulation. Brain exercises for stroke recovery should help your loved one regain skills that impact thinking and reasoning, and the activities listed below are all great ways to start incorporating new types of stimulation into his or her day.
1. Do Tasks with the Non-Dominant Hand
Your loved one may have had to relearn how to do common tasks, such as walking and holding a pencil. Once your loved one has made some progress, switching hands adds a new level of challenge. Have your loved one try painting or drawing a picture with his or her non-dominant hand. While the results won’t be perfect, this exercise can activate parts of your loved one’s brain that may not be stimulated as often.
Certain age-related conditions can make it more challenging for seniors to age in place safely and comfortably, but Roseville live-in care experts are available around the clock to help seniors manage their health. Whether your loved one is living with dementia or is recovering from a stroke, you can trust the professional live-in caregivers from Home Care Assistance to enhance his or her quality of life.
2. Play Chess or Checkers
Strategy games are fun for seniors, and they exercise the brain in several ways. Playing chess or checkers brings back memories for seniors who have played these games in the past. Encourage your loved one to talk about those memories. These games also stimulate problem-solving abilities, and you may want to keep the challenge level lower while your loved one rebuilds his or her skills. When having fun, your loved one may be more willing to work on boosting his or her brain health. Chess offers just the right level of challenge while still feeling more like an enjoyable hobby.
A professional caregiver can be a wonderful game-playing partner for your loved one. Seniors can face a variety of challenges as they age, many of which can be mitigated with the help of professional in-home caregivers who provide high-quality in-home care. Trust Home Care Assistance to help your elderly loved one age in place safely and comfortably.
3. Complete Online Brain Training Tasks
Your loved one’s doctor may recommend some online brain training apps, or you can easily search for them yourself. These games are designed to boost brain health through simple challenges that increase in difficulty as the player demonstrates progress. The apps also use repetition to strengthen neural connections in the brain that impact how someone thinks and reasons. Many of these tasks also translate into normal daily activities. For instance, putting items in order in a brain training game can help your loved one think through organizational tasks at home.
4. Cook Increasingly Challenging Recipes
Preparing a meal requires working through a series of steps to put together the ingredients. Your loved one may also need to rely on memory and thinking skills to do things such as figure out the measurements for ingredients when doubling a recipe. Keep in mind your loved one may need assistance and monitoring when relearning how to cook after a stroke. After observing your loved one in action, keep looking for new recipes that increase in difficulty to help him or her continue building the ability to follow procedures.
5. Learn a New Skill
The best activities for brain recovery are those that require learning something new. Some stroke survivors prefer to learn how to play an instrument to boost their cognitive functioning, while others find that learning a new language helps with their speech and vocabulary. Since your loved one is already in learning mode after the stroke, finding a new hobby to practice further enhances his or her brain health recovery.
In-home caregivers can be a wonderful source of information and support for stroke survivors. 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 Roseville at-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. Home Care Assistance can be your trusted partner when your loved one needs help with the challenges of aging. Call us today at (916) 226-3737 to learn about our high-quality in-home care services.