Open Access
ARTICLE
The Effect of Brain Gym on Global Cognitive Function of Institutionalized Older People
Araceli Cano-Estrada1,*, Araceli Jimenez-Mendoza2, Denny Contreras-Guerrero1, Mario Hernandes-Alejandro3, Andres Salas-Casas4
1
Escuela Superior de Tlahuelilpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, México
2
Escuela Nacional de Enfermería y Obstetricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
3
Departomento de Bioingenieria, Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología del Instituto Politecnico Nacional (UPIBIIPN), Mexico City, Mexico
4
Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo. Pachuca, Hidalgo. México. Scuela Superior de
Tlahuelilpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, México
* Corresponding Author: Araceli Cano-Estrada. Email:
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2022, 24(3), 375-383. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2022.018857
Received 21 August 2021; Accepted 26 November 2021; Issue published 17 March 2022
Abstract
Cognitive function of older adults is influenced by several factors such as age, sex, education, and physical activity
so that it can impact the decrease in progressive cognitive function. It is necessary to implement cognitive training
in old people’s care to prevent or delay the onset of age-related cognitive decline. Brain gym is a series of simple
motion exercises and is an alternative therapy that stimulates the brain. This study aims to evaluate the effect of
brain gym as a cognitive training intervention on global cognitive functioning of institutionalized older population. The study is a non-randomized quasi-experimental one using pre-and post-test control group design. The
participants of the study were 65 years old or older who had been part of gerontological centers from a local community. They were divided into two groups: control and intervention, each one with 15 people. Mini-Mental State
Examination was applied to the sample before and after the cognitive training. The brain gym training consists of
bi-weekly group meeting for 12 weeks, lasting 50 min each. The treated group had a significantly better global
cognitive function. Recalling (memory), orientation and language skills were the domains with the most signifi-
cant changes (
p < 0.05). On the other hand, no significant changes were found in the participants of control
groups during post test. Our results suggest that cognitive training based in brain gym improves global cognitive
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Keywords
Cite This Article
Cano-Estrada, A., Jimenez-Mendoza, A., Contreras-Guerrero, D., Hernandes-Alejandro, M., Salas-Casas, A. (2022). The Effect of Brain Gym on Global Cognitive Function of Institutionalized Older People.
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 24(3), 375–383.