More articles show Wii is not just for kids.

The folks at Nintendo knew what they were doing when they donated Wii games to retirement homes across the country back in 2006.  Today the Wii continues to be in the spotlight with more and more seniors utilizing the benefits of Wii Sports and other physical activity-based games for rehabilitation, exercise, and just plain fun.  This week’s latest article “Seniors choose the way of the Wii” from Niagra Falls Review (our northern neighbors in Canada), explains how the Wii became a senior favorite in North America.

• In 2006 before the Wii hit the market, Nintendo showcased the Wii at an Association of American Retired Persons trade expo.  Seeing the aging population as a lucrative market, they also donated dozens of games to retirement residences across the United States.
• In 2007, a rehabilitation hospital in Edmonton became the first hospital in North America to use Wii technology to treat patients with balance and movement issues.
• Later that year, the Wii hit Canada’s senior market with Wii games popping up in Chippawa’s Bella Senior Care facility.
• In May 2008, the University of South Carolina launched the Health Games Research Center to study how interactive games like Wii can be used as health-care tools.  Preliminary reports show that the Wii encourages physical activity and strengthens cognitive ability.

Why the Wii is good for seniors.

According to the article, the Wii accomplishes three crucial health goals for seniors:

1. Maximize brain function
2. Exercise
3. Social Interaction

Research has shown that maintaining good brain health is one of the simplest ways to age well and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.  At a recent conference on cognitive aging in Toronto, participants were told that people who create a cognitive reserve are better able to endure the aging process.  “If we maximize our brain function and do all the things we can to create new connections in our brain, it will reduce the effects of aging on the brain,” said Marge Dempsey, acting CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Niagara Region.  To maintain a healthy aging brain, she said, individuals should focus on exercise, intellectual challenges, social interaction and nutrition.  That makes Wii an ideal activity -it meets three of those criteria.  “And if you munch on a banana while playing, you’ve got all four,” Dempsey added. “Do everything you can to enrich the reserves in your brain.”  -NFR