Are LEGOs good for the brain?
One of the reasons why Lego is so good for the brain is that it builds concentration span. What is this? The more a child is immersed and “lost” in an activity, the more a child's ability to focus develops.
Lego teaches various soft skills that will shape the way that they work and interact with others including, creative thinking, teamwork, communication, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills.
Building LEGO sets are a great way to stimulate and maintain brain function. It also cites the ability to hone manual dexterity in seniors. Since a large population of senior citizens come down with memory loss and motor skill difficulty, LEGO can serve as a therapy to help stimulate their brains from degenerating.
Playing with LEGO® is known to have amazing benefits for the development of fine motor skills, developing dexterity and strength in the fingers.
According to LEGO Group's 2022 Well Report that surveyed 32,781 parents and adults, 78 percent of adults claimed LEGO play helped with their own wellbeing, while 76 percent said it was fundamental to their happiness.
Using Legos as part of your cognitive therapy plan for your client's with Alzheimer's disease and dementia can help your client practice important cognitive skills such as verbal fluency, attention, executive functioning, and visual spatial skills.
That's because, aside from brand recognition and aggressive competitiveness, the quality and inventiveness of its product is unparalleled. Lego bricks are virtually indestructible, withstanding repetitive or rough play and lasting decades.
Using LEGOs to teach math can help sharpen cognitive skills. Kids can practice lining up blocks, sorting by color, and using the bumps to solve problems. As they get more familiar with the concepts and the numbers, they will soon learn to use these bricks to help them with their mathematics.
For many, building Lego sets has become a way to practice mindfulness: the process of focusing on the present moment without dwelling on the past or future. Mindfulness has been shown to improve sleep, alleviate stress, and lower blood pressure.
But did you know that these small, colorful building blocks can also be beneficial for people who are dealing with dementia? Experts say Legos are powerful tools for stimulating the human mind and getting creative juices flowing.
Why LEGO is good therapy?
Alongside social benefits, lego therapy interventions also improve fine motor skills as well as spatial, visual and analytical skills. Lego therapy interventions can take place at home, in school or in one of our central Manchester clinics.
Spend quality time with premium LEGO® sets designed specifically for adults. From wonders of the world to movie magic, intrepid space exploration to pop culture icons, luxury cars to architectural masterpieces, there's a LEGO set waiting for you. So unplug, unbox and unwind.
In fact, many adults now, probably grew up playing with LEGO and the love for it never died. While some people might think LEGO is for kids, the reality is that LEGO sets are not only a whole lot of fun for kids, but they are also a great hobby AND investment for its avid collectors.
Lego-based therapy (LeGoff et al 2014) is an evidence based approach that aims to develop social communication skills in autistic children, such as sharing, turn-taking, following rules, using names and problem-solving.
Lego therapy is used to help children learn skills like turn-taking, sharing, listening, conversation, teamwork, shared attention and problem-solving.
LEGO blocks turned out to be the perfect toy to draw out my son's strengths — and give us both some quiet time. Learning to build quiet time into my ADHD son's day turned out to be a snap.
It can be used with children aged 5-17 years – the difficulty of the lego build should be adapted based on the age and abilities of the children. Lego therapy was originally created for children with social difficulties associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Asperger's, and even Anxiety or Adjustment Disorders.
The purpose of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is to change “lean backward meetings” to “lean forward meetings” , where the result is more participation, more insights surfaced, more engagement and, ultimately, more commitment and faster implementations.
According to the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, regular physical exercise can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by up to 50 percent. What's more, exercise can also slow further deterioration in those who have already started to develop cognitive problems.
Amyloid plaques
One form, beta-amyloid 42, is thought to be especially toxic. In the Alzheimer's brain, abnormal levels of this naturally occurring protein clump together to form plaques that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function.
What foods delay Alzheimer's?
- Leafy green vegetables, at least 6 servings/week.
- Other vegetables, at least 1 serving/day.
- Berries, at least 2 servings/week.
- Whole grains, at least 3 servings/day.
- Fish, 1 serving/week.
- Poultry, 2 servings/week.
- Beans, 3 servings/week.
- Nuts, 5 servings/week.
18+ is a set designation first used in 2020 as a replacement for the Expert line. Sets with the 18+ designation are more advanced than standard LEGO sets and are intended for adult builders.
- Castle Medieval Market Village - 10193. ...
- Ultimate Collectors Series Slave 1 - 75060. ...
- Nintendo Entertainment System - 71374. ...
- Ultimate Collectors Series Millennium Falcon - 75192. ...
- Palace Cinema - 10232. ...
- Disney Castle - 71040. ...
- Star Wars Death Star - 75159. LEGO. ...
- Ghostbusters Firehouse - 75827. LEGO.
Best-selling LEGO themes 2021
Our 2021 portfolio was the largest and most diverse ever. We saw strong performances from our homegrown themes such as LEGO NINJAGO which celebrated its 10th anniversary, and licensed themes such as LEGO Super Mario™ and LEGO Star Wars™.
- Improved eye/hand coordination.
- The development of spatial skills.
- Persistence and patience.
- Enhanced fine motor skills.
- Problem solving skills.
- Achieving a sense of accomplishment.
- Learning how to plan.
- Teamwork when playing with others.
Lego is a great way to develop problem-solving skills in children. The process of building with Lego requires kids to think about how the pieces fit together, which helps them develop spatial awareness and problem-solving skills. Each task, like building a car or a treasure chest is a problem needing to be solved.
Legos: Legos are excellent for working on fine motor skills as it develops grasp along with intrinsic hand strength having to push them together and pull them apart. Legos also improve hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination since a child has to use both upper extremities to manipulate the pieces.
"Using Lego as an adult can be great to reduce stress and anxiety. When you're focusing on creating something, you're pointing your mind in the direction of what you're creating. This doesn't leave room for unwanted thoughts to penetrate your brain," she says.
LEGO construction blocks have been credited for supporting adult mental health. In addition, 88 per cent of adults thought playing with the construction blocks supported their confidence, 79 per cent said it helped develop their emotional intelligence, and 74 per cent claimed it supported their listening skills.
It may seem hard to build a large LEGO set, but if you keep building, keep putting one more brick on the top, or side, you can build an awesome creation which can help you get over your depression, even if for the time being.
What activities are good to prevent dementia?
...
Activities that are both aerobic and strength-building
- football.
- circuit training.
- running.
- netball or basketball.
- hockey.
- martial arts.
- walking up stairs or a hill.
- heavy gardening.
The following are used to temporarily improve dementia symptoms. Cholinesterase inhibitors. These medications — including donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Razadyne) — work by boosting levels of a chemical messenger involved in memory and judgment.
- Word puzzles. Word puzzles are a genre of games that focus specifically on language. ...
- Jigsaw puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles are a type of puzzle game that are particularly beneficial for memory and reasoning. ...
- Dice games. ...
- Card games. ...
- Board games. ...
- Video games.
Originally proposed by LeGoff (2004) this intervention employs the use of three key roles 'Engineer' 'Builder' and 'Supplier' to build a model together using LEGO® bricks. This is facilitated by a trained adult, although child led, to allow the children a means of developing their social communication skills.
So, ultimately, the reason stepping on a LEGO brick hurts so much is a combination of how sensitive our feet are, how much force they hit the ground with as we walk and the fact that the bricks are made of an extremely strong plastic (not to mention frequently found on the floor).
- Set the ground rules. Participants suggest and agree upon simple rules that everyone understands. ...
- Assigned roles. Each participant is assigned a role, and roles are rotated through the group during the task: ...
- Stick to principles of play therapy. ...
- Role of adult facilitators. ...
- Get more ideas.
- Nifeliz.
- Nanoblock.
- MEGA.
- Sluban.
- COBI.
- WANGE.
- Mould King.
- Fun Little Toys.
“Adults with high-pressured jobs are telling us they're using Lego to disconnect from the mania of the day,” said Genevieve Capa Cruz, Lego's audience marketing strategist. “They're looking for a relaxing, calming experience — and they like instructions because that's what helps them be in the zone.”
They're colorful – There's no denying that LEGO are super colorful and a ton of fun to play with. LEGO builds teamwork – This may be the only time siblings actually get along. LEGO is a great way to build math skills – If you've never used LEGO to build math skills, you're missing out.
Consumer sales grew at strong levels in 2021. Brought LEGO® play to more children around the world.
Is LEGO good for mindfulness?
Interacting with LEGO bricks is regularly brought up by academic researchers on mindfulness, as a perfect example of a relaxing activity which nonetheless requires a level of mental engagement.)
A typical LEGO® Therapy session would last for one hour and be offered weekly. Sessions of this nature can be founded by SENCOs or childminders, and run by staff or volunteers who have a good understanding of the principles which are involved.
Research into LEGO Based Therapy has shown positive outcomes for social interaction, communication, behaviour and emotional wellbeing for children and young people on the autism spectrum.
Lego recently surveyed a group of adults and found that 91 percent felt noticeably better after they played with the building blocks, and 86 percent reported feeling more relaxed.
Are LEGO® sets for adults? You bet… Spend quality time with premium LEGO® sets designed specifically for adults. From wonders of the world to movie magic, intrepid space exploration to pop culture icons, luxury cars to architectural masterpieces, there's a LEGO set waiting for you.
But did you know that these small, colorful building blocks can also be beneficial for people who are dealing with dementia? Experts say Legos are powerful tools for stimulating the human mind and getting creative juices flowing.
"Using Lego as an adult can be great to reduce stress and anxiety. When you're focusing on creating something, you're pointing your mind in the direction of what you're creating. This doesn't leave room for unwanted thoughts to penetrate your brain," she says.
Interacting with LEGO bricks is regularly brought up by academic researchers on mindfulness, as a perfect example of a relaxing activity which nonetheless requires a level of mental engagement.) But whatever the focus, the most important thing to do is to consciously pay attention to it.
LEGOS and building blocks are hands-on toys that are simple to use and have only a few pieces so children can create a single structure in a relatively short period of time, which may help build their confidence.
- Fidget Spinners. Fidget spinners are small toys that come in a variety of hues and silhouettes. ...
- Rubik's Cube. With its bright colors and perfectly hand-sized design, the classic Rubik's Cube is an excellent toy for ADHD. ...
- Tangle Toys. ...
- Shape-Shifting Boxes. ...
- Stress Ball. ...
- Magnet Balls. ...
- Putty or Play Dough. ...
- Liquid Motion Sandscape.
How does Lego help with stress?
For many, building Lego sets has become a way to practice mindfulness: the process of focusing on the present moment without dwelling on the past or future. Mindfulness has been shown to improve sleep, alleviate stress, and lower blood pressure.
LEGO® Therapy is an intervention that has started to emerge in schools to help children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in their social communication difficulties.