Number Brain Games “Count”

Aging and Life Enhancement
By Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A.

Mental stimulation is good for your brain in the present moment and as you age. Challenging your brain can have a positive impact on your executive functioning skills such as your working memory, inhibition control, planning, reasoning and task-switching. Studies have also shown it can also increase performance and mental flexibility.

• Interestingly, (if not stressing out in frustration, it can actually induce a flow state when there is complete absorption in the task, thus enhancing  deep concentration.
• When you’re doing “aerobics” for your brain, you may be using multiple senses at the same time, thus stimulating your brain in new ways. 

Perhaps you have a preference for a word game or a visual puzzle.  Check out your local library and senior center for an abundance of varied activities. Many resources are also available on the internet but an adequate screen size is preferable.

In some ways, our brains are much like our muscles — the more you work it, the better your chances of keeping it strong. ~Dr. Hall (Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement) 

Numerical brain games may actually challenge you more, so give them a try and branch out. Just start at a comfortable level. You may even want to start out by looking at the answers first then try solving the puzzle a little later. The goal is to expand your options — NOT stress you out. Gradually increase the difficulty level when you’re ready, or vary your options, as there are many. 

Benefits:

1. They may help improve your ability to stay more focused and be more present in your everyday activities. 
2. Multitasking is not your friend when it comes to remembering. By practicing sustaining your concentration on a single task, you may be able to then increase safety and accuracy while decreasing errors and frustration in everyday scenarios. 

Try this: Determine the pattern first and the logical starting point, going clockwise. Then fill in the missing numbers.

NOTE: It may be helpful to look at a few answers FIRST to help you understand the pattern.  

Come back to the puzzle at another time, then fill in the blanks.

Answers:

1. 1. 74
   2. 17
   3. 8
   4. 12
   5. 50
   6. 14
   7. 143
   8. 75
   9. 67
   10. 20

As a speech-language pathologist for many decades, I often introduced puzzles as an activity that might support impaired areas of functioning. One client did daily crossword puzzles prior to his stroke but he had weakness in his dominant hand so he stopped doing them. One of my recommendations was to start using his non-dominant hand. Initial modifications included simpler puzzles with larger squares to reduce any frustrations. 

After several months, he became more adept and the letters actually became more legible to the point that eventually he switched to his non-dominant hand for better letter intelligibility. Side benefits included his satisfaction in being able to do something he enjoyed while keeping his mind engaged and eventually even writing his checks or a simple note.

“Adaptability is not about changing who you are, it’s about expanding what you can become.” ~Shamail Aijaz

In a similar situation, a woman who had a mild stroke oved to do Sudoko (number puzzle grids) but stopped because she got too upset. Sudoko can be quite a challenging numbers game but she was very determined. It relies on logic, pattern recognition, short term memory and forward planning; not math.

My recommendation was asking her family to fill in some of the numbers for her ahead of time. Within a month,she was able do her regular level. For those of you who might want to try that puzzle option, another suggestion is to find a book with a variety of levels and be ready to do a lot of erasing as you search for the right number options.

Here’s the thing: We tend to do what we love and even may be fairly good at it BUT while doing the same type of game or puzzle “over and over again” you can lose the challenge and thus the benefits since you are likely going on automatic pilot. Variety matters!

The mind is like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand. ~Idowu Koyenikan

 

For more brain games, resource information and books by Kathryn, click these links:

• A Visual Brain Game
• We’ve Got a Brain Game for You
• Brain Games: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
• Brain Games: Letter Swaps

Email Kathryn at [email protected] for a copy of her catalog with her brain game products and her Walking the Path to Memory Fitness booklet. If interested in Kathryn’s one-hour memory fitness programs for senior groups, she will send you a list of her popular topics.