8 exercises to train memory in elderly people

The increase in life expectancy entails a series of losses in terms of skills and abilities, memory being one of the the most affected among the elderly and the perception of their own difficulties usually causes them discomfort and dissatisfaction.

Now, it is known that the brain is plastic, which allows it to adapt to changes during throughout life and, in turn, allows human beings to continue storing new knowledge even at ages advanced. This is possible thanks to training and performing memory training exercises at an advanced age, always keeping the mind active.

In this article we will briefly expose a series of exercises that will serve to train it, being especially focused on elderly people.

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Exercises to train memory in the elderly

Next we will explain what some of the exercises consist of to train memory to a advanced age, being also useful for younger people, serving to prevent deterioration cognitive.

1. Make workbooks

There are many exercise books that are used for cognitive stimulation in order to prevent cognitive decline, which are very useful for older people to maintain a regular routine that allows them to keep their brain and memory active in their own home, without having to go to any specialized center (for example, exercises in mathematics, reading comprehension, synonyms and antonyms, to explain the meaning of a series of words, to classify words by categories, to complete sentences, to match words with their definition, etc.).

This would be highly recommended for those who do not have a severe cognitive impairment that requires professional supervision, although they can also perform it as a complement to a treatment for those who need specialized supervision due to signs of cognitive impairment significant.

What's more, these types of notebooks are usually classified by different levels, as the example of the following classification, being able to vary this classification between the different publishers:

• Level 1: people with moderate cognitive impairment, who maintain their drawing and literacy skills.
• Level 2: people with a moderate to slight deterioration and with a basic level of culture.
• Level 3: for people with mild or incipient cognitive impairment.

Also, when the elderly person performs these exercises It is advisable that they are accompanied by a family member or someone who takes care of her so that she can supervise the exercises, as well as it is recommended that you make this practice a daily habit and that you try to establish a schedule to always perform them at the same time time, always in a quiet place, so that you get used to having control and organization in your day to day, which can be very beneficial for your memory.

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2. Write in a journal

This is another of the exercises to train memory at an advanced age and It is about the older person writing in as much detail as possible a series of important events that they have experienced and that have marked them, both for better and for worse, because all these events are memories that allow the person to give continuity to the personal history that they have lived.

In addition, this diary can be used by that person to go to it and recall some moments, which is a tool that can be used at certain times when that you forget some detail of your past, so that memory loss slows down in addition to being able to facilitate the memory of moments of happiness that you have lived for a long time behind.

And it is that reminding oneself who has been and, therefore, continues to be, could be a good resource for people with any type of dementia can regain memory as far as possible, in this case episodic.

On the other hand, keeping a journal can help put in order the episodic memory, related to the events lived throughout life, at the same time that it keeps the brain active.

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3. Online interactive exercises

One of the advantages that technological advances offer us is the possibility of accessing a series of virtual platforms that have been developed for cognitive stimulation, having exercises focused on people of all ages and with any educational level, having exercises to train various cognitive abilities (for example, attention, language, reasoning or the memory).

Among all of them, we are going to highlight those platforms that are focused on exercises to train memory at an advanced age, with very diverse exercises focused on stimulate all brain areas that are involved in cognitive decline, such as memory loss.

Of course, it is convenient that they have the help of a professional, a family member or a caregiver, since the most normal thing is that they need help to access these platforms.

You can find all kinds of platforms of the style in any internet search engine. Likewise, in the digital age in which we live, there are also multiple games for computers, tablets and mobiles that serve to perform cognitive training exercises, where different mental aptitudes can be worked, such as the memory.

These games are designed so that people learn to operate them in an intuitive way without having to learn an instruction manual; However, from certain ages, they will probably need the help of a family member or a caregiver to help them access this type of game and to teach them to use it.

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4. Exercises to remember a story

The objective of this exercise is for the person to organize the information received about a short story according to a time sequence.

For example, the story of a person is told without reference to the keywords that denote the elapsed time sequence.

Later the same story is recited, but this second time the keywords related to the temporal sequence that have elapsed throughout the story are highlighted (p. g., when getting up, at mealtime, at dusk, before going to sleep).

The person is then asked to tell what they remember about the story and the details that occurred around those key moments in time that were highlighted in the telling of the story.

This exercise serves to highlight the importance of ordering a story temporarily to make it easier to remember, being a great tool to remember events and news.

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5. Words list recall exercises

This is one of the exercises to train memory at an advanced age, focused on people without pronounced cognitive impairment.

The exercise consists of presenting the person with a list of 16 random words that they must memorize. But for this, the person is taught a series of steps that facilitate the memorization of it.

The first consists of ask you to sort the words by categories of words that have similar characteristics (for example, animals on the one hand, plants on the other, etc.), which they can write down on a sheet of paper.

The second step is to memorize each of the groups of words separately.

They should then try to recite the 16 words. The most common is that they recite them along with the other words that they qualified in the same group, since reciting them in the initial order would be more complicated. But the objective of this exercise is to make them realize that organization helps in learning and is a good memory resource.

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6. Organization exercises and spatial references

Another of the exercises to train memory at an advanced age, consists of use spatial references in an organized way.

For example, when we try to remember a story that we read a few days ago in the newspaper, it may help us to remember it by fact that the section of the news in which it was or the part of the sheet in which it was located comes to mind information.

Another example can be the one used by a teacher to memorize the name of his students, asking them to sit in the same every day desk, since it has been shown that keeping our environment orderly helps us to memorize certain details and at the same time minimize forgetfulness (p. For example, keeping the closet in our room tidy to easily find a certain garment while minimizing the risk of “losing it”).

And it is that practicing exercises that stimulate our spatial memory reinforces our ability to establish references and also spatial associations. This spatial memory is what allows people to register in memory and also retrieve information related to the location of a person or an object and also about the occurrence of an event.

A very useful exercise to practice spatial memory with older people is to put a set of cards face down on a table. Each of these tiles is repeated so that there is a set of pairs of tiles. Then the person in each attempt, when it is his turn, must turn over two tiles in order to uncover a pair of tiles at the same time. If you cannot uncover the pair, you must turn the cards over again and try to memorize where each token is located to be able to uncover the couple when you manage to locate it in future Attempts.

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7. Visualization exercises

Another of the exercises to train memory at an advanced age is the use of visual images, since they are a good tool to remember certain things. And is that if we generate visual images associated with certain information that we intend to remember, we can access that information more easily and, in turn, improve the performance of our memory, because the visual memory allows us to evoke in our memory the information that is associated with that image.

For example, if a granddaughter wants her grandmother to meet her new partner, telling her what her name is, where she works, where she grew up, etc., it is You are more likely to remember that person if you also show him a picture of your boyfriend, so that you can memorize what he looks like and retain the image of his face. So CEvery time you tell you something new about your boyfriend, you are more likely to remember him if the image of his face comes to mind..

This exercise can be very helpful for older people to remember family members already deceased or relatives who live far away and whom you cannot see on a regular basis so that they do not forget they.

8. Method of places to remember daily tasks

This exercise is a reminder of a series of errands that an elderly person must run in their daily life in order to keep them as independent as possible. To do this, internal and external strategies must be used.

Internal strategies

Mental repetition of the different tasks to be carried out, dividing them in chronological order (morning, afternoon and night).

Try to associate a visual place to each of the tasks (p. For example, associating the fact of arriving in the kitchen in the morning with having to prepare breakfast and take the pills prescribed by the doctor).

External strategies

It may help to make a list of the tasks you need to do.. You can also place some posters in strategic places where you make sure that you will read them when necessary so that you do not forget to do something important (p. For example, put up a sign in the kitchen that reminds you of the pills to take and the times to take each one, or put up a sign on the front door to remind you to always leave the house with a mobile phone, your wallet and your keys House).

These are some of the many strategies used through exercise to train memory in later life.