Stats show more than 63% of patients with stroke experience serious damage in the brain areas enabling cognitive functions. Stroke can cause many issues involving attention, language, memory, and vision troubles. Physical therapy is an essential part of the stroke recovery process. Let’s consider the main exercises that should enhance function by stimulating neurons.
- Playing chess, checkers, and scrabble stimulates the analytical and visual centers in the brain. Players must analyze the board and plan strategies. The games also require memory to remember how game pieces are moved or how to spell words correctly. Fine motor skills are enhanced when moving small game pieces throughout the game.
- Doing craft projects is another way to stimulate multiple centers in the brain. Playing with modeling clay increases fine motor skills. Seniors might also consider drawing or painting. Listening to music stimulates the right and left hemispheres of the brain, intensifying brain activity.
- Doing crossword puzzles is an effective means of stimulating memory and other cognitive functions. Sudoku is another type of puzzle that also proves useful for memory and strategy stimulation.
- Reading requires visual stimulation and memory to recall the pronunciation and meaning of each word. Such a simple activity as reading encourages brain plasticity, which entails stimulating neurons to become more active and form more lines of communication.