If you think Wii is just for kids, think again. Don’t be shock if you see your grandparents going to gadget store and ask for Nintendo Wii. At these days, bingo cards and crossword puzzles are put aside and they were replaced by more hip and healthier alternative, the Wii games.

According to study conducted in 2008, 26 percent of aging individuals over the age of 50 played video games. This is an increase of 9 percent from 1999, according to release of data from the Entertainment Software Association.
Nursing homes and senior centers all over the country are purchasing Wii games and teaching aging seniors on how to play tennis, boxing, bowling and golf on Wii console. The Wii games have both mental and physical health benefits to elderly. The aging seniors are not only improving their physical fitness status, but they are flexing their mental muscles, socializing and having fun. With the Wii games, the aging seniors taking turn with the hand-held controls and compete with one another in various games. All these are components of a good brain fitness program.

As they aged, most of our elders have lost their ability to run around the tennis court, or hit a punching bag or pickup a bowling ball. These limitations can cause depression and limits their healthy lifestyle, thus it also limits the life of an aging senior. The Wii has changed that.

Being physically fit is one major element of being mentally fit. The games like WiiFit are purposely designed to be exercise games. The WiiFit is much more low impact than the “real” fitness program, making them more suitable elderly who need to build their strength and flexibility more slowly than younger people. The game also allows the players for track progress from the day they created the profile so they can see how far they’ve come since the first day played.

The best part of using the Wii as part of a healthy aging program is the laughter and excitement you see in the faces of the elders. They allow them to regain some of their youth and vitality. It makes them feel young and hip. For most of them, it seems like the old times. The Wii games have brought back feelings of being young again as they flex their mental muscles and improve their physical fitness.

The Nintendo Wii is a great gaming console for people of all ages. It can be a tool used for the elderly to help them live healthier and happier. Wii games promote healthy aging.

– Professional Health Care Services, Inc.