Entertainment Apps For Alzheimers Patients
This category includes simple games that will keep an individuals mind lively and provide subtle forms of memory training while providing an entertaining diversion.
The entertainment apps we recommend are:
Take a look through my mini-reviews of these apps.
A Walk Through Dementia
A Walk Through Dementia was developed by Alzheimers Research UK to help people understand what everyday life can be like for dementia patients. Guided by real-life dementia experiences, this app poses virtual dementia challenges at the supermarket, on the road, and in the home through immersive videos that put caregivers and loved ones in the shoes of a dementia patient. Its an app designed to promote empathy and understanding, so caregivers can provide quality care.
Playing Mobile Games Helps Improve Dementia
A lot of research has shown the positive impact video games has on cognitive functions in patients with dementia. Take the two examples mentioned at the beginning of the article, Game Show and Decoder. Researchers from Cambridge University concluded that Game Show players had significant improvements in episodic memory . Players were also able to remember more details regarding their daily routines and images.
The research recruited 75 healthy young adults into three groups. One game group played Decoder, one group played no games while the other group played Bingo. The results showed the group that spent eight hours a month on Decoder had significant improvements in terms of their attention and concentration, which is two times higher than the Bingo group. Results from the study were pleasantly surprising as improvement in the game playing group was comparable to effects from stimulants, such as nicotine, or methylphenidate .
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Can Brain Games Prevent Or Delay Dementia If You Start Them Early In Life
According to the National Institute on Aging , nothing has been scientifically proven to prevent or treat dementia. However, there are certain lifestyle changes that you can make to reduce your risk. This includes staying cognitively active and socializing with family and friends, both of which brain games can help you do.
Game Show Can Improve Memory
Game Show is a cool application to help people improve their memory. It has been shown by some studies to also help with the earliest stages of dementia.
It was developed by the University of Cambridge, and dementia users were shown to have an impressive 40% increase in memory and thinking tests. Whilst it cannot cure dementia, it can help slow down the advancement of memory and thinking loss.
Dr. Tara Spires-Jones believes apps like this are very promising indeed. “ctivities that engage your brain like learning and certain kinds of ‘cognitive training’ increase connections between brain cells.
More connections provide what is called a cognitive reserve and make the brain able to withstand the damage caused by diseases like Alzheimer’s for longer than if you have fewer connections”. She said.
The game is available through Peak on Google Play and iTunes.
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Healing Spaces Is More Than Just A Game
In conjunction with the growing number of Alzheimers diagnoses, there is a lot of research and development being done to better serve those living with Dementia.
Healing Spaces is one of the best iPad apps for Alzheimers patients, and its much more than just a game.
Developed by a woman named Gabriela Purri R. Gomes, Healing Spaces is a multi-sensory experience meant to benefit Dementia patients and their caregivers. The app is an excellent choice for memory care assisted living patients.
The smart platform permits caregivers to transform spaces for their patients through the use of color, light, visuals, and sounds. It also allows patients to generally focus, engage, and relax.
Who Is Most At Risk Of Dementia And Is There Anything That Can Prevent This Condition
Science shows that the biggest risk factors for dementia are two things we cant control: our age and our genetics. Aging is the biggest risk factor for developing dementia, and that risk doubles every 5 years starting at around age 70.
While certain lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of dementia, no approach has been shown to prevent it entirely.
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What To Look For In Ipad Games For Dementia
When looking for similar games to play, here are some factors to take into account:
- Design: The game should be easy on the eyes and not too cluttered so its more enjoyable to play.
- Cognitive Challenge: The game should require players to think and adapt to new patterns.
- Personalization: Its beneficial if the game can adapt to your specific playstyle so it can keep challenging you for optimal results.
- Replay-ability: The game shouldnt be boring or repetitive so its more engaging, which means dementia patients wont get bored and give up.
The best games for seniors with dementia are those that combine these factors to create an overall enjoyable experience. They should feel like a true challenge instead of something you breeze through without trying.
With the right game, dementia patients will see results because they can actively improve their brains functionality. Pick games with these four key factors to ensure that your loved one is having fun while he or she is also making progress.
Alzheimer’s Society’s Talking Point Forum Helps Patients Talk To Each Other
Alzheimer’s Society’s Talking Point Forum is a free app built by the Alzheimer’s Society in the UK. It was developed as a form of online support and discussion forum for dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers.
The idea of the app is to act as a meeting and discussion space for sufferers to read others’ experiences, ask for advice, share their thoughts, and join in discussions.
But, above all, its main benefit is to help patients’ understand they are not alone and help build support communities amongst those who understand their situation the most.
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Word Games Or Board Games
There are a lot of games for dementia patients specially made for them to enjoy and play in their free time. These games keep the minds of the patients active and their thinking skills are less likely to decline. Spending time playing a board game can be calming and even help in managing blood pressure levels.
Many seniors face problems with hand dexterity and problem-solving skills in the advanced stages. These games help with these problems and improve memory of the dementia patients. You can check out some of the word and board games for dementia patients here.
Talking Tom Cat 2 Is Fun For All
The app is fun and straightforward. There is a cat that you can talk to on your mobile screen.
As soon as you talk to it, it would respond, repeating it, but in its voice. The cats voice is so funny and hilarious that the sufferer is bound to laugh at some point.
The patient can stroke the glass and brush the cat. Every such move is welcomed by the cat when the touchscreen is stroked. The cat has various outfits, and the senior can dress them up with whatever appeals to him most.
The fun does not stop here, as you can play many mini-games with it. The success of the game or app is evident as the patient spends hours on end playing with his virtual pet. The objective is to relax the demented mind and see the funny side of things. This is a free game app.
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Matching Games For Elderly: Designed For Ipad
Matching Games For Elderly is an app that involves finding the same memory games in grids. These are memory games that are designed to train memory ability, boost and exercise memory, and train the brain using one of the best pairing games ever.
This is a fun dinosaur game that is suitable for both adults and children and offers a fantastic method to improve memory.
The aim of this game involves matching the same cards. To achieve a high score, the pairs need to be matched as fast as possible . Memory Match is a highly addictive game that can keep a player engrossed for hours on end.
Features:
- Find pictures of the same dinosaurs in a grid, and the theme changes after each mission are completed.
- 8 difficult levels of animal memory games
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Turn the cards over to match up the pairs
Fight Dementia: Four Online Games To Keep Your Mind Sharp
As you or your loved ones grow older, its natural to think about combatting certain possibilities of aging like dementia. This affliction is devastating to individuals and families alike, even with the recent advances in modern medicine. While there are many factors at play in determining who this disease affects, there are still tons of activities and hobbies to check out that will help keep the mind sharp. Though it may seem surprising, one of the best ways to activate the brain is by playing games, both online and in video game form. We may have once considered these as simply as toys for children, but by playing interactive games we can help to fight against cognitive decline. Here are some of the best online games for seniors to help fend off dementia.
One of the most popular brain-training resources, Lumosity pairs neuroscience with game developers to create fun and addicting puzzles that strengthen your mental ability. These games focus around memory training and have over 85 million users worldwide. The puzzles can be simple and fun and rarely feel like work or a task. In fact, there are users from all sorts of demographics even young people have joined to strengthen their study skills.
Super Mario Odyssey
Leo LaGrottellagrotte@lsa-llc.com317-863-5936
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Phone Apps For People With Dementia
In 2019, technology has become so advanced that its become a daily part of our lives. The phrase theres an app for that rings true in many regards.
A multitude of programs can help patients with various health conditions. And dementia is no exception..
Here are 7 apps that people with dementia can benefit from:
My Reef 3D
Patients with advanced dementia will especially enjoy My Reef 3D. This animated app allows patients to create their aquarium with a variety of colorful fish and aquatic plants. Users can take part in feeding and taking care of their virtual pets, or they can simply play around with them. The touchscreen is enabled so that users can poke the tank and see the fish react.
Greymatters: Reaching Beyond Dementia
Greymatters was inspired by creator Jenny Rozbruchs late grandmother Freida, who had vascular dementia. Its like a portable scrapbook that can contain pictures, music, and games to preserve memories and reach out to non-communicating patients. Caregivers can create a personalized storybook full of photos accompanied by text or voice narration to help evoke memories.
Caregivers and their loved ones can also reflect on pop culture back in the day. The app comes with universal content from the 30s, 40s, 50s, referencing big musicians like Frank Sinatra.
Lets Create! Pottery
Flower Garden
MindMate
Dementia Emergency
Luminosity
Apps To Track Dementia Patients
The loss of independence caused by dementia is often very frustrating for some patients, especially for those that used to live on their own independently.
While GPS tracking systems and software cannot restore the memory of dementia patients, they can be used to help these patients regain a level of independence.
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Are Puzzles Effective To Prevent Dementia
Even though computer games have become more popular in recent years, elders prefer crossword puzzles and number puzzles. Do they, however, really help to prevent Alzheimers or dementia disease?
The 2011 Bronx Aging Study investigated brain health and cognitive decline, among other things. It followed 488 persons who were cognitively intact at the start of the trial for three years.
Throughout the trial, subjects got clinically and cognitively tested every 12-18 months.
Researchers discovered that late life crossword puzzle participation, regardless of education, was associated with delayed onset of memory deterioration in those who got dementia near the end of the trial.
Furthermore, Crossword puzzle involvement at baseline delayed the onset of accelerated memory deterioration by 2.54 years.
The thing is, not every puzzle is senior-friendly and beneficial, so we have to choose our puzzles wisely.
Mobile Apps For Alzheimers Patients And Their Caregivers
Alzheimers and dementia make it difficult for patients to plan, organize, and communicate and it is distressing for friends and relatives to suddenly become unrecognizable. Those with Alzheimers can often feel isolated and alone even when they are surrounded by people who have known them for a long time. They rely on the support of apparent strangers who dedicate themselves to assisting, motivated either by love or professional purpose.
Technology is making breakthroughs in the field of care for those with Alzheimers disease. The cutting edge of this drive is being led by small pieces of software that run on standard consumer gadgets. Tablets and smartphones are particularly well supplied with apps that help those affected by Alzheimers disease both the patient and caregiver.
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Iridis Helps Users Make Their Homes ‘dementia Friendly’
Developed by Stirling University, Iridis helps people prepare their homes to make them dementia friendly. It offers advice on the lighting to use, furniture to have, how to improve color contrast and reduce unnecessary noise sources.
The app will help you make quick assessments of your home and provides a report on recommendations to consider.
The app was designed in conjunction with Space Architects, the app is used mainly for the family or care workers of people living at home but can also be adapted for hospitals and care homes.
Memory Games: Brain Training
Another mind training game set to improve cognitive skills and overcome some of the effects of Alzheimers. The set includes 21 different games, each with increasing levels of complexity. More than one million users have already downloaded this app. It is a good idea to dedicate 2 to 5 minutes on the game every day in order to improve memory.
The Memory Games app is available from to run on Android devices. The basic app is free to use and there are higher paid editions.
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Can Brain Training Games Improve Brain Health
Brain training games or computerized cognitive training consisting of programs of games designed specifically to exercise memory, attention, speed, flexibility, and problem-solving have become increasingly popular in recent years.
In 2018, according to the market research firm SharpBrains, people spent $1.9 billion on digital brain health and neurotechnology apps. Makers of these popular brain-training games claim that they can help ward off cognitive decline by keeping your brain sharp.
Scientists remain skeptical about how effective these brain-training games really are in improving brain health.
Few studies can show that getting better at a brain game transfers to everyday activities of daily living, says Kimberly D. Mueller, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of communication sciences and disorders at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
That said, just like playing regular games, it is a vehicle for learning something new or challenging your brain, says Dr. Mueller. Based on what we know about how the brain works, learning new things with repeated practice, or challenging the brain in new ways, can strengthen connections between the neurons, or brain cells, adds Mueller.
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Games For Patients With Dementia
Finding games for dementia patients is a time consuming job for most caregivers. Games for dementia, Alzheimer’s or any form of memory loss can range from Alzheimers card games, memory games, word games, and brain games to activities that improve dexterity to intellectual challenges. Games for dementia patients can provide the mental stimulation dementia sufferers need to stay engaged and alert while enjoying a vigorous memory workout.
Andthe great news is that so many creative games are available that picking out the games you’d like to play with the patient is almost as much fun as playing them! At The Alzheimer’s Store, we are constantly looking for new games for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. If you knowof any you would like to suggest, please contact us. Games for dementiathat we like best include hand eye coordination, aerobics and mental stimulation. All three of these components can be found in the Thumball Games.
The Alzstore offers a wide variety of games for dementia patients:senior memory games
- Games that enhance hand-eye coordination through manipulation of various parts or pieces
- Games for seniors that strengthen mental capacity through word-related activities, mental exercises or questions that encourage the verbal articulation of ideas
- Games that improve recall by encouraging the recollection of memories via verbal interaction or pictures
- Games that forge mental connections through association.
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Utilizing Phone Apps For Dementia Patients
There is a wide range of phone apps that people living with dementia can use to help improve their memory and manage their daily lives. There are also lots of apps whose aim is to provide support to caregivers and families. Using these apps may not cure dementia, but they can make living with the disease a little more bearable.
These are just a few of the available dementia care apps currently on the Play Store and App Store, but there are many others to consider. As more people begin using technology to help manage their dementia diagnosis, more of these apps should start to appear.