Bengaluru’s elderly have a new game to keep dementia at bay: How spelling bee is keeping them more active than ever

How spelling bee changed the lives of the elderly

It’s a motley crowd of retired judges, World Bank economists, businessmen, who are arguing over the word honour. “It is honour, with an ‘u’,” scream the lovers of Queen’s English. Others contest it saying that’s the boomer generation spelling. “It’s now honour, without the ’u’”, they counter. The squabbling has Narayanaswamy in splits. “At least they are not sad or hiding in their rooms. I read a research paper and found that spelling out words is a great way to keep the brain healthy and kill depression, which almost goes hand-in-hand with dementia. When the judges call out the word, all your neurons are firing, your adrenaline shoots up, your curiosity gets the better of you and you try to remember, revise all chapters of your life,” she adds.

Rama Narayanaswamy, the president of the residents’ group holding spelling bee events, is 75, the students are anywhere between 75 and 96.

The spelling bee contest has helped many elderly residents improve their power of communication and even talk for extended periods on current topics. “From blocked drains during the rains to Donald Trump, we share our opinions on everything at our weekly discussion forums,” says Narayanaswamy, who is also organising puzzles and analytical games for the community.

Why spelling bee is a good brain workout

Dr Shiva Kumar R, head and senior consultant, neurology, Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru, who has adapted the spelling bee format for the elderly, says it is a fun therapy at many levels. “It is good exercise for the brain. It is a tool for cognitive stimulation therapy, where participants are required to focus, remember, and recall information, which can help maintain and improve memory, attention span, thinking, reasoning ability and problem-solving skills. It is also a good reason for social interaction among people who might have otherwise kept to themselves,” he adds. He has seen this contest helping the elderly recognise patterns of word-making, identify words and strengthen their short-term memory and concentration.

Spelling bee also inculcates a sense of achievement and boosts self-confidence among the elderly. “They feel challenged and that becomes a trigger to engage every brain cell. It is like reigniting a learner’s passion. And when they do well, there is a dopamine rush. This activates the brain’s reward system, which motivates goal-directed behaviour and learning,” says Dr Shiva Kumar. Recent studies have shown how boosting dopamine may help clear toxic brain plaques and tangles, signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive disorder that destroys memory and processing skills.

Every person has a cognitive reserve, a part that lies idle and unutilised, which helps the brain cope with damage. This reserve can use alternative neural pathways to compensate for damage or inefficiency. “So the idea is to reactivate these areas. Research has shown that engaging in cognitively stimulating leisure activities, such as puzzles and word games, may help delay memory decline and keep dementia at bay,” adds Dr Shiva Kumar.

However, all of these therapies have to begin in the early and mild stages of dementia. “Although exercises like spelling bee can delay progression of dementia, it can be really helpful in the early stages,” he says. The doctor chose spelling bee particularly because group therapies always work better for dementia patients than individual therapy.

A cue for other brain games

Rather than doing the same brain game every day, the doctor suggests new and challenging activities that push cognitive limits. “We are following up on spelling bee by alternating it with puzzles and even geometry tricks,” says Narayanaswamy, who has been trying hard to get some mathematical games going. Thanks to spelling bee, the elderly are also developing a reading habit. “We have a good library that we have created with all the books we have. The contests have boosted our confidence so much that we watch films at a theatre nearby. Some of us are now learning pickleball for better limb coordination. Some of us travelled to Bhutan and the Northeast recently. Suffice it to say, we are not sad and don’t mind picking up today’s lingo too,” says Narayanaswamy.