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2Introduction
This is an exciting time in the field of brain health! Conventional wisdom once held that
after we reach adulthood our brains stop developing and that after age 40 or 50 a person
begins an inevitable cognitive decline, resulting in problems with memory and slower
thinking. In the late 1990s, however, scientists discovered that our brains can produce
new cells as well as have a lifelong ability to grow and change in response to learning.
They coined the term neuroplasticity for this phenomenon, and it means that all of us have
the ability to change our brains for the better, whether we are healthy or have a memory
loss disorder. This was a groundbreaking discovery and changed the way we think
about aging. We now understand that we are not just stuck with the brain we havewe
can grow and change it for the better! We can increase our response time, accuracy, and
recalland even improve memorywith targeted brain fitness activities, as well as lifestyles that include physical exercise and healthy diets.
However, neuroplasticity does not just happen overnight. Like all things that are
good for you, changing your brain for the better takes some effort. That is how the activities in this book can help. They are designed to exercise many areas of cognition, such as
memory, attention, focus, visualspatial processing, and sequencing. The activities are not
easy; just as with physical exercise, you have to exert some effort to gain the benefits. The
activities are fun and interesting and provide some level of challenge.
When choosing sections for this book, the authors thought carefully about how each
section relates to brain health and how the activities could be used to expand thinking in
each area as well as engage the users.
Warm Ups: These activities are important because they help ease a person into doing
brain exercise. Some people are nervous about trying something new or are concerned
that they may do poorly on an activity. The warm ups are designed with success in mind
and help to get a person comfortable with and excited about doing the activities.
Sharpening Your Senses: This section is a perfect way to expose participants to different
ways of using the senses in everyday life. As a person gets older, some senses become less
sharp and we tend to be set in our ways with the things that we like to eat, smell, see, and
so forth. This section will stimulate each of the senses through discussion, experiential
activities, and reminiscence.
Language: A common complaint among older adults is the tip of the tongue phenomenon. This section is full of a variety of activities designed to spur recall of vocabulary and
use of less-common words. One of the best ways to combat tip of the tongue challenges
is by continually speaking, using a variety words, and socializing with others. This section
is great to share with a friend!
Geography: Many older adults have spent time traveling. This section is excellent for
spurring recall of travel experiences from long-term memory. In addition, the activities
that involve navigating maps and determining distance or area are excellent for exercising
the parts of the brain involved in visual-spatial reasoning.
Creativity: Being creative forces our brains to think outside the box in terms of forming
ideas and solving problems. Yet, as we grow older most of us have less opportunity to
take part in creative activities. This section offers a variety of creative exercises that are
new and unique.
History and Culture: This section is an excellent way to draw on participants long-term
memories and promote discussion. The activities and questions will help participants to
recall details about historical events, family memories, and cultural celebrations.
Brain Flexers
Logic and Sequencing: Problem solving is one aspect of thinking that makes us uniquely
human. The activities in this section are excellent brain flexers by providing opportunities
to figure out the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a variety of scenarios.
Music: Music is very closely tied to memory. In fact, many studies have shown the value
of music in helping individuals to recall details of events that were previously thought
to have been forgotten. Discussing music, sharing memories, and taking part in musical
activities stimulates long-term memory and promotes socialization and camaraderie with
others.
bell
______________________________
hop
2. shower
______________________________
stone
3. lamp
______________________________
man
4. strong
______________________________
band
5. grave
______________________________
work
6. under
______________________________
man
7. year
______________________________
worm
8. drug
______________________________
front
9. lee
______________________________
ward
10. for
______________________________
fall
11. master
______________________________
meal
12. lay
______________________________
come
13. box
______________________________
port
14. leader
______________________________
wreck
15. story
______________________________
room
16. under
______________________________
melon
17. thread
______________________________
foot
18. ever
______________________________
house
Brain Flexers, by Einberger & Sellick. Copyright 2015 by Health Professions Press, Inc.
55
bell hop
2. shower
cap stone
3. lamp
post man
4. strong
arm band
5. grave
yard
6. under
line man
7. year
book worm
8. drug
store front
9. lee
way ward
10. fort
night fall
12. lay
out come
13. box
car port
14. leader
ship wreck
15. story
board room
16. under
water melon
17. thread
bare foot
18. ever
green house
work
GUIDE: Ask participants to list a compound word for each letter of the alphabet. Do any of the words have other
endings that would make another compound word? Do some of the words have two or three endings? If participants are having trouble figuring out some of the answers, you can help by giving them the first letter of the answer.
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Brain Flexers, by Einberger & Sellick. Copyright 2015 by Health Professions Press, Inc.
sweater
polo
scarf
smock
2. ship
soap
cork
coral
gasoline
3. centimeter
pound
mile
millimeter
inch
4. mouse
zebra
flag
highway
skunk
5. apple
icicle
elephant
orange
lettuce
6. Rhode Island
Maine
Colorado
New Hampshire
Maryland
7. arrowhead
traffic cone
pyramid
stop sign
8. octopus
pool
loose
moose
9. frigid
cold
moderate
freezing
blustery
10. touch
jump
see
11. commission
millennium
settee
attention
committee
12. biologist
zoologist
chemist
architect
botanist
taste
Brain Flexers, by Einberger & Sellick. Copyright 2015 by Health Professions Press, Inc.
smell
hear
181
polo
scarf
smock
2. ship
soap
Coral (the others all float)
cork
coral
gasoline
3. centimeter
pound
mile
Pound (the others are units of measure)
millimeter
inch
4. mouse
zebra
Mouse (the others all have stripes)
highway
skunk
5. apple
icicle
elephant
Lettuce (the others begin with a vowel)
orange
lettuce
6. Rhode Island
Maine
Colorado
Colorado (the others are along the East Coast)
New Hampshire
Maryland
7. arrowhead
traffic cone
ice cream cone
Stop sign (the others are triangular in shape)
pyramid
stop sign
8. octopus
pool
loose
Octopus (the others have a double o)
moose
9. frigid
cold
moderate
Moderate (the others describe winter temperatures)
freezing
blustery
10. touch
jump
Jump (the others are senses)
flag
see
taste
smell
hear
11. commission
millennium
settee
Attention (the others have two sets of double letters)
attention
committee
12. biologist
zoologist
chemist
Architect (the others are types of scientists)
architect
botanist
GUIDE: This would be a good activity to have participants do together in pairs. Tell them to put on their creative
thinking caps to try to determine how each item that doesnt belong in the set is different from the other items.
Thinking through a variety of reasons why each might not belong uses flexible thinking skills, which can help to
improve problem solving, increase creativity, and encourage openmindedness. How did they determine which
item doesnt belong?
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Brain Flexers, by Einberger & Sellick. Copyright 2015 by Health Professions Press, Inc.