Diversicare - Brain Gym® & More Program

Diversicare is a Health Care Management Company active across Canada. We have been providing management services over 30 years and currently oversee 34 homes with more than 4500 residents. Projects range from independent apartments, retirement residences/assisted living through to long-term care homes.

Recently, Diversicare implemented a new seniors program called Brain Gym® & More. Brain Gym & More is an innovative program that supports the current brain research about the brain’s plasticity. Research studies have found that using Brain Gym and other sensory modalities slows down or reverses some of the effects of aging such as a lack of concentration, poor recall, limited thinking patterns, balance to reduce falls and seeming inability to learn new material, even in those who have shown some signs of deterioration.

Brain Gym is a movement based, learning readiness program that is used in more than 80 countries around the world. The result is a simple and highly effective system of targeted specific movements to prepare the brain and entire nervous system for optimal performance in all areas – intellectual, creative, athletic, and interpersonal.  Brain Gym is a system of quick and enjoyable physical activities that directly enhance brain function. It is based on the hypothesis that moving your body maximizes your brain power.

How is Brain Gym useful with older adults?

The Brain Gym movements are designed to switch on the brain and body and relax the system to improve the quality of life including cognitive functioning, mental fitness levels, memory, concentration, balance, independence and communication skills.

Improving older adults’ cognitive functioning not only helps maintain mental health and well-being but has a significant role in the prevention and/or management of confusion, depression, lethargy, lack of motivation, and low self esteem in the aged. Improved cognitive functioning and mental fitness is essential if older people are to maintain independence and control of their lives.

Benefits - Brain Gym & More for Older Adults Improves:

• Mental functioning – enhancing cognition
• Memory & concentration
• Communication
• Vision
• Hearing
• Co-ordination and mobility
• Balance to reduce falls
• Sleeping
• Energy levels
• Learning new skills –i.e. Leisure and Recreation activities
• Increasing motivation and to overcoming resistance to starting art, dance, craft, yoga classes
• Independence
• Stress management and personal coping styles
• Starting each day as a physical activity “tonic”
• Moods and reduces depression
• Overall well-being

Brain Gym also

• Reduces stress by easily calming and relaxing their system

The exciting thing about Brain Gym & More is that it shows results in a short period of time, in some cases immediately.

In addition to Brain Gym, Paul Hyman, Licensed Instructor, also included several other therapeutic modalities to make this a one-of-a-kind seniors program only offered at Diversicare homes across Canada.

Currently all Retirement and Long-Term Care Homes managed or owned by Diversicare have implemented Brain Gym & More program into the recreational programming including during exercise and fitness and before other fun activities such as crossword puzzles or playing on the Wii system.  We also sent each home a Toy Kit designed to improve the brain’s functionality, with a multi sensory approach focused on stimulating tactile, kinesthetic, visual, auditory, and vestibular systems. The residents are very excited and willing to attend the Brain Gym & More sessions and find that they are a lot of fun to do.

Taking this program one step further, we decided that it would be great for our residents to have these movements incorporated into their physiotherapy programs.  Our in-house physiotherapy company agreed that this would benefit the quality of life for the residents.  The Physiotherapists and Assistants will attend a one day workshop to learn about Brain Gym & More and how to introduce this into their daily programs.  They will also tract the results and compare them to past documentation so that there will be evidence that this program is effective and beneficial to our residents.

For more information on this exciting new program, please visit our website at www.diversicare.ca or call any of our homes across Canada.