Recently, an afternoon opened up when several appointments were canceled. I took the opportunity to take my daughter to Legoland. We are fortunate enough to live a short drive away.
The afternoon of educational play for her reminded me of a research-based article on how fun and mood affect cognition: Why Fun, Curiosity & Engagement Improves Learning: Mood, Senses, Neurons, Arousal, Cognition by Aditya Shukla. These same principles can be applied for dementia care and are practices we implement at Marama.
Aditya Shukla lists these 11 ways to make learning fun in the article.
- Use the SHoP rule – Surprise, Humor, and Play
- Make the environment conducive to social interactions
- Engage in simple physical activities like asking students to do something trivial
- Use pop culture references
- Connect real-life moments to fictional lecture moments
- Exaggerate points, add a dramatic flair
- Mix emotions and transition between high intensity, curiosity, neutral, and mike-drop moments. Transitions are important, keeping a single emotion on for too long won’t help much
- Use props & games
- Develop a persona to play with student and teacher expectations & a unique style to build familiarity
- Use memes
- Develop relationships
Games for Gains
For more examples of games with cognitive benefits, here’s a blog post from the holidays (Christmas in July!) that lists our favorite Marama games. https://www.maramaexperience.com/5-fun-thanksgiving-brain-games/
And personally, Bananagrams is one of my favorite games for cognitive ability. It’s a favorite at Marama and in my home.
Take the Playful Path
We see great improvements using play at Marama! A coaching client of mine recently shared a story of building an obstacle course with her husband in their backyard. They used only delivery boxes and things they found in the backyard or in the house — like bricks and water bottles and hula hoops. She described the fun they had creating it and the profound difference it made in his posture and balance over the course of just a few weeks. I was so inspired by their creativity and how much she enjoyed telling the story about it.
Your Turn:
What will you do for fun brain stimulation this week?
Warmly,
Dr Heather Sandison
P.S. My paper on Alzheimer’s reversal is officially published! The print version will be out in August, but you can read it online now: Observed Improvement in Cognition During a Personalized Lifestyle Intervention in People with Cognitive Decline.
To learn how to implement key aspects of the treatment at home, spend the fall with me in class: Learn about Marama At Home PLUS with live coaching (click).
