Hook Home Help is helping people in Hook to live more happily and independently. Different people need different things and this week one lady just wanted someone to play a board game with her so that's what we did. The lady I was helping chose the game so she was in charge of setting it up and explaining it to me. As we went along, she was helping me to understand the rules almost by playing for me as well as her. It was a lovely change in our usual dynamic that this time she was helping me to learn the ropes, rather than me helping her with things that she can no longer do for herself.
Never before have I seen such a positive effect come from such a simple game. In just a few minutes her mind had been taken away from the stresses of daily life as she had to focus both on remembering the game and how to share the rules with me. I saw her face light up as I started to grasp it and could play along with her.
She commented that it was useful to have to use her brain and it felt good to be able to do it, so I read a bit about it and I learnt that board games can improve memory and help with age related memory loss. Stimulating the brain via numbers, letters and colours can enhance brain function. They are just like exercise for your brain.
Playing board games triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural “feel-good” chemicals. A British Medical Journal study notes that the risk of dementia was 15 percent lower in board game players than in non-players. I see now how this can be useful for all of us to know and how playing games can be a good use of time when we are with older family members.
We laughed when I made mistakes as I learnt the rules. We talked about her memories of playing it when she was younger.
It was lovely to see her caught up in the moment and distracted from the stresses and strains that come with long term illness and old age. For a good half hour she was not worrying about what the future might bring but was happy there and then having some interaction with someone.
In some ways it helped to balance our relationship - she knew how to play and I was just starting to grasp it. She enjoyed watching my progress and helped to put me right when I made mistakes. She wasn’t needing my help to do the things that she is no longer able to do, I was needing her help to know which pieces I could put down.
The game went on and she said sadly, “You’ll have to go soon”. I said, “I can stay longer today so we can finish the game”. She looked so happy and we carried on until all the pieces were on the board and somehow neither of us had won, which was the perfect outcome.
