Mental Aerobics: 'Brain Play' for those who enjoy a mental challenge,
and are interested in maintaining ability to creatively problem solve
and perhaps grow a few new dendrites.
Mental Aerobics is my own idea, developed in 1993 while I was working as a mental health counselor in a senior center, for use with older adults in a group setting. Older adults tend to be quite biased against other elders; they often refuse to go to the activities at the senior center because they don't want to be around those 'old people'! Older people sometimes mistakenly believe that other older people are 'senile' and boring. I designed this program to prove to older adults that they, and their peers, can still think creatively ad positively, and enjoy doing it.
Mental Aerobics is fun! At the time I created it, I was an Odyssey of the Mind coach. I tried using some of the same concepts of thinking outside the box, and spontaneous problem solving with a group of older adults, and they loved it! An expected side effect of Mental Aerobics has been the opportunity for older adults who participate in the sessions to meet and mingle with other like-minded senior citizens, and develop social relationships outside the sessions.
"Mental Aerobics presents various types of ‘brain games’ to be solved in a group setting of superannuated adults. Those with an abundance of years are encouraged to believe in their continuing ability to problem solve by their own successful performances." -Dr. Bert Hayslip
Academic Studies
Mental Aerobics has been studied in a formal academic setting three times. The first study was published in 1999 in Educational Gerontology: an International Journal, Vol 25, #1, "Mental Aerobics: Exercises for the Mind in Later Life", Kay Paggi & Bert Hayslip. (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/036012799267972#preview.) Examples of the material used in Mental Aerobics were included in this article, and some are shown below.
Bert Hayslip, PhD, is a Regents Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Texas, has been intrigued by the concepts of Mental Aerobics from its inception. After the initial publication, he obtained a grant to study Mental Aerobics during the academic year 2004-2005. The goal was to determine whether Mental Aerobics has a measurable positive effect on the participants. The study participants were community dwelling older adults who cme into the sessions from their homes.
Upon statistical analysis the resulting data supported evidence that Mental Aerobics was found to have a positive effect on the participants’ cognitive skills and their confidence in their skills, and a corresponding positive effect on the quality of their lives.
The study was designed with half of the participants in a control group that did not participant in the study, and half randomly assigned to participate in a 6-week Mental Aerobics workshop. Both groups were given surveys to complete at the beginning and the end of the collection period. Those surveys were analyzed to determine what effects participation in Mental Aerobics had on the participants. The youngest participant among the groups was 59 and the oldest was 78; the midpoint was age 71.
In general terms, here is what was found:
· Those who participated in Mental Aerobics felt more confident about their ability to use their minds than did those who were placed on the waiting list. This is an important outcome; it means that challenging yourself is important in order to stay mentally active.
· Participants in Mental Aerobics felt more confident about their ability to handle finances (pay bills, etc.) than did those in the control group.
Mental Aerobics participants aged 71 years or older had more confidence in their ability to use their minds, relative to those of their same age who in the control group.
· Participants with a college degree were more likely to report experiencing mental slip-ups (such as, forgetting why you went from one part of the house to the other) in comparison to participants who were less educated. This seems to indicate that more highly educated people become more aware of mental slip-ups after participating. Becoming aware of everyday slip-ups is the first step to correcting them, so this is a surprising, but nevertheless positive, finding.
This project proved to the researchers that Mental Aerobics can indeed be helpful to older persons. They also found that most people enjoyed the social interaction, the opportunity to work with other mental alert elders, and the challenge of solving new and difficult problems. They also had fun!
Mental Aerobics and the results of this study were presented at the 2006 National Conference on Cognitive Aging. The results of this study are currently being submitted for publication in an academic journal.
The third formal study of Mental Aerobics was done in a community for memory impaired people. Again there were 2 groups, one a control group who did not participate in sessions, and the other group of people who did. There was a measurable difference after 6 sessions. This study has been published in the Clinical Gerontologist: The journal of aging and mental health, Vol 32, #4, p.389, "The Impact of Mental AErobics Training on Memory Impaired Older Adults", Hayslip, Paggi, Poole, and Pinson.
I will be delighted to come to your organization or club and do a Mental Workout. Call me to set a date.972-839-0065
Remember, the point is NOT to find the answers. The point is to THINK and exercise your brain!
What is the next letter: O-T-T-F-F-S-S-?
What is the next number: 4 5 6 7 8 9
61 52 63 94 46 ?
Verbal Equations:
Ex: 7 = D. of W. (answer: 7 = days of the week)
Ex: 26 = L. in the A. (answer = 26 letters in the alphabet)
1. 7 W of the A.W.
2. 1001 A.N.
3. 12 S of the Z
4. 54 C. in a D. (with the J.)
5. 9 P. in the S.S.
6. 88 P.K.
7. 13 S on the A.F.
8. 32 D. at which W.F.
9. 18 H. on a G.C.
10. 90 D. in a R.A.
What number is 200 times one-fourth of one-half of 32?
Decipher this familiar saying:
"Compounds of hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion of two to one that are without visible movement invariably tend to flow with profundity."
THINGS & PLACES
Here are some items that are also names of places. How many can you name?
1. A warlike woman that is also a river.
2. An American Indian home that is a CO city
3. A fowl that is a Middle Eastern country.
4. A type of large store than is the name of a city in KS.
5. A fishing net that is a river.
6. A grassy plain that is a seaport.
7. A type of tableware that is an Asian country.
8. A large animal that is a lake port.
9. A type of bird that is a group of islands.
10. Glazed earthenware that is a Dutch city.
11. Golden brown that is a state prison.
12. A carriage that is an English county.
13. Higher in degree or rank and a lake.
14.Tropical Asian palm that is an ancient Syrian city.
15. A type of concave molding that is poetic Scotland.
Sites to visit for more brain play:
http://www.dailysudoku.com/sudoku/ -
This site allows you to play with either letters or numbers. Click on "Kids" for smaller puzzles that are great confidence builders for beginners.