Trivia for Seniors: Different Ways to Play

There’s something genuinely satisfying about knowing the answer to an obscure trivia question, isn’t there? Or doesn’t matter how useless or, well, trivial the information is. It’s just great to know a random fact, especially when the people around you – whether it be a family gathering or trivia night at the local pub – don’t know the answer.

According to a recent article in Healthline, trivia is actually good for mental health – for any age group, seniors included. Knowing the correct answer to a trivia question provides the same sort of dopamine rush a person may experience while gambling. Unlike gambling, trivia has no real negative side effects such as addiction. Learning trivia and playing trivia games can really only benefit your mental health.

Trivia for seniors is not only great for their mental health but can also help their memory as well. Those who are masters of trivia are really just masters of memory – they can store a ton of information, and recall it when necessary. This happens in the frontal cortex of the brain, the area responsible for all memory. Therefore learning trivia “exercises” the part of the brain that also stores the important memories, like doctor appointments and whether or not you took your pills this morning.

Download a Free Guide to Home Care

A plethora of trivia for the elderly can be found on the Internet. “Remember when” trivia for seniors is popular, as well as movie star trivia for seniors. Some of the quizzes have silly titles, like “Find Out if You are Older Than Dirt with this Quiz!” Some of the trivia for seniors has multiple choice answers – which was helpful for this non-senior writer who “tested” the Older Than Dirt quiz. I scored a 7 out of 14 and learned that Francis Watson and James Crick became famous for discovering the double helix of DNA in 1950.

Trivia can be a useful tool for seniors with dementia as well. The brain is a mysterious place, and though a person suffering from dementia may struggle with recent memories, they may remember their past well. This could include things like famous music or movie stars from when they were young. They may be able to remember historical events or other aspects of popular culture from their youth. Succeeding at a trivia game can give them a sense of happiness and accomplishment they may struggle to find in other aspects of their lives.

As mentioned before, a quick Google search will turn up more trivia for seniors quizzes than you could ever take in an entire lifetime, but here are some good sets of quizzes I found. This site has quizzes that are printable and have the answers right underneath the questions. Memory Lane Therapy offers multiple-choice trivia quizzes for seniors (one of which is the Older Than Dirt quiz). You can also find several apps that have daily trivia for seniors.

Remember there is almost no downside to becoming a trivia champion – other than perhaps becoming an insufferable braggart when you win, but every trivia champion deserves a bit of bragging, don’t you think? So grab your elderly friends and relatives, print out some trivia quizzes, and enjoy a night of fun, obscure questions, playful bragging, and maybe even learn something new!