Managing your MS symptoms does not always have to be a tedious or discouraging task. There are many ways you can reduce cognitive impairment. Aside from eating the right foods that are said to improve memory retention, you can also play fun activities to reduce cognitive impairment and improve your memory.
Whether it’s doing crossword puzzles, playing card games, or visiting any number of the gaming websites that cater to MS patients, enjoying these activities for a few minutes a day can greatly improve your cognitive function. These six games can help improve your memory and prevent the development of any new cognitive symptoms.
Memory Building Games
Word Scramble
If you’re a wordsmith or love to read, word scramble games like Letter Scramble and Word Scramble II will keep your brain fit for literature and word retrieval. Memory is improved when you are forced to remember the spellings of words, and your cognitive recognition is also tested when you attempt to recognize common words among the scrambled letters. Try unscrambling longer words for a real challenge.
Crossword Puzzles
If you get a daily newspaper, you’ll have access to a new crossword puzzle every day. Puzzles are also available online and many smartphones have crossword puzzles apps you can download and play. Once you start filling in the blanks, you’ll notice an improvement in your problem solving and mental flexibility. Crossword puzzles also help with word memory and word retrieval as they often use the same clues on a weekly basis, giving you the opportunity to practice your memory skills as you solve.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Not only do puzzles help preserve memory but they also work to improve your fine motor and visual-spatial skills. Puzzles come in a range of difficulty, so you can find a few in your skillset and practice from there. For a real challenge, set a timer and see how fast you can complete it, then try to beat that time.
Sudoku
Similar to crossword puzzles, Sudoku requires you to make a non-repetitive sequence of numbers in a row that go up to 9. Organizing this sequence can be tricky, but the puzzles come with different difficulty levels which match your skill level. Sudoku works to improve your problem-solving skills as well as your memory by forcing you to remember which numbers belong in which block.
Online Games That Improve Cognitive Function
Lumosity
This online neuroscience research company specializes in perfecting over 40 different brain games that improve memory, attention, problem-solving, and cognitive speed. Logging into their website gives you access to some of their games, like word scrambles, math problems, and mazes. Theses memory games focus on remembering locations and faces, recollecting movements and patterns, and helping you keep track of multiple different pieces of information.
Cognifit
Like Lumosity, Cognifit is an online service that focuses on developing different games to improve memory and cognitive functioning. They offer 3 different programs, as well as a smartphone app and website, which will cater to your individual needs. Each game is designed with your brain performance in mind, and they will adjust their difficulty level in order to match your individual, cognitive changes.
Ready to play?
Living symptom free with MS is possible. While each of these 6 games and services aim to improve memory and cognitive function in MS patients, they also work to improve attention span and concentration. Both your attention and concentration are important to improving and maintain your memory. These games may seem like relaxing hobbies or fun, rainy day activities, but in reality these simple games work out your brain and help it to overcome the neurological damage caused by MS.