Bingo was once seen as a game that older people play, but in 2022 online and offline bingo is popular amongst many age groups.
During the lockdown, bingo players turned online, and reports report many benefits for elderly and younger players, although today, we shall discuss the benefits of bingo for the elderly.
Imaginative Games of Bingo
During the lockdown, as many traditional bingo venues closed, bingo lovers could no longer gather in numbers to listen to bingo call numbers hoping to hear their own.
Instead, some older people got together for games of bingo using zoom, whilst others enjoyed games of socially distanced street bingo, car-park bingo and even balcony bingo during the pandemic.
Also, many older people turned online for the first time to take advantage of bingo bonuses and promotional offers. You can play online bingo at any time and wherever you happen to be, which suits people who may not sleep as well as they once did.
Bingo has always been a social game, a way to meet friends and family, make new friends and catch up on all the latest news and gossip whilst enjoying a few games, and of course, there is always a chance of a win. But bingo has many more health benefits than the social side, even though counteracting loneliness is one definite benefit of the game.
Other Health Benefits of Bingo
Research tells us that those who engage in regular activities live longer and healthier lives, and for those that are not as mobile as they once were, bingo positively exercises the mind.
Bingo is one fun way to keep the brain active as people who play the game have to remember numbers, think about which game they are playing and any patterns required. They need to identify different images and sounds. In online bingo, the live chat is via a chat box, so they will need to type to some extent and be able to use this feature. The bingo game can be compared to the solitaire card game. Solitaire is ideal for either a single or multiplayer game.
Playing bingo strengthens brain pathways used to calculate distance and move muscles. The fast-paced movement needed to keep up with bingo games can boost hand-eye coordination. Simply put, playing bingo can improve your brain’s processing speeds, alertness and capability of your memory. The game helps to maintain concentration, perhaps better than for those who don’t play bingo regularly (including younger players).
Concentration can decline as we age. Playing bingo helps us maintain our concentration more than if we did not play the game. Ageing can bring a loss of independence, so playing bingo with all of its social and health benefits is welcome by many people. Research tells us that playing bingo boosts fine motor skills, as does typing, and those who have arthritis may benefit from this form of gentle exercise.
Health Benefits of Bingo in a Nutshell
- Cognitive Abilities are Boosted
- Physical Health is Supported
- Hand-Eye Coordination is Improved
- Social Participation is Increased
Finally, another interesting fact about playing bingo is that when people were recovering from surgery or other illnesses, played bingo, their time in the hospital was shorter, and healing times were faster.
