TL;DR/Quick Summary: Westminster Communities of Florida is dedicated to helping residents live happy, healthy and purposeful lives. We are investing in innovative technology and expanding our commitment to cognitive wellness. At our Westminster Oaks life plan community in Tallahassee, FL, we introduced the Dividat Neuro Gym, a cognitive and motor training program that leverages dual task training to help seniors improve reaction times, balance, and brain function. This article describes how the Dividat system works and offers tips on dual task training exercises you can do at home.
In celebration of Brain Health Month, Westminster Communities is excited to share that we have introduced Dividat Neuro Gym, a state-of-the-art, Swiss-engineered interactive training device, at our Westminster Oaks life plan community in Tallahassee, FL.
The introduction of this cognitive and motor training platform reflects our expanded commitment to cognitive wellness across all of our active senior living communities in Florida. By bringing this world-class medical fitness technology directly to life plan community residents, we are changing what it means to experience purposeful, active aging.
“People are living longer, and they want quality of life along with longevity,” said Vice President of Healthy Aging & Longevity Kelly Stranburg. “The exciting part is we now know the brain can continue adapting throughout life, especially when we combine movement, learning, and engagement.”
What is Dual Tasking?
Think about how you move through a typical day. You rarely just walk in a straight, quiet line. You walk while carrying groceries and texting, navigating a busy sidewalk while talking to a friend, or stepping around an unexpected obstacle as you look for your car keys.
All of these everyday activities require your brain to process information while your body is in motion. This practice of combining targeted cognitive and motor training simultaneously is called dual tasking.
How Can Dual Task Training Enhance Senior Wellness?
As we age, the brain’s ability to handle these simultaneous demands can naturally slow down. When it becomes harder to divide your attention between thinking and moving, the risk of missteps, stumbles, or falls increases. Dual task training can be used to help seniors prevent these balance issues and reduce the risk of falls.
In fact, an analysis of clinical reviews by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that dual task training is significantly more effective than standard, single-focus exercises at improving dynamic balance and reducing fall frequency in older adults.
“The brain doesn’t work in isolation. Real life requires us to move and think at the same time,” Stranburg said. “Dual task training teaches the brain and body to communicate more efficiently together.”
The Dividat system helps the brain improve processing of cognitive information and motion by triggering neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt, grow, and rewire its neural pathways at any stage of life. By challenging your mind and muscles simultaneously through specialized neuroplasticity exercises, the Dividat system uses dual task training to enhance your brain’s ability to handle real-world distractions.
Regular participation in this physical and cognitive training has measurable functional benefits for seniors, including:
- Faster Reaction Times: The brain processes visual cues more quickly, which helps speed up the body’s reaction to sudden environmental changes.
- Enhanced Mobility and Balance: Dual tasking strengthens spatial awareness and stride stability, which are critical for independence and fall prevention.
- Improved Brain Function: Engaging the mind and body simultaneously boosts executive function, supporting better memory recall and mental clarity.
Watch the Dividat System in Action
The Dividat system features the Dividat Senso, a highly specialized, pressure-sensitive stepping platform paired with an interactive display screen. It essentially functions as a movement-based video game with your feet as the controller. As the screen displays unique cognitive challenges, patterns, and memory games, you respond by stepping on the corresponding sections of the platform.
Watch the video below to see this innovative technology in action, as Meredith, Wellness Coordinator at Westminster Oaks, demonstrates how safe, engaging, and fun the platform is to use.
The Dividat system is personalized and advanced, tracking footsteps down to the millisecond, measuring reaction intervals, and automatically scaling game difficulty in real time. This ensures that every resident, regardless of their current fitness level, gets a workout perfectly tailored to their unique physical and cognitive needs.
What Are Some Brain Exercises for Seniors I Can Do at Home?
Bringing the Dividat Neuro Gym to our senior fitness center at Westminster Oaks in Tallahassee is a tremendous win for residents, but enhancing your brain health is something everyone can do at home.
Healthy aging is a 24/7 lifestyle, and the principles of cognitive-motor fitness can be woven into your daily routine right at home with a few simple dual task training exercises you can try today:
- The Brain-Boost Stroll (For Memory): Take a walk through your home or yard while counting backward from 100 by threes (e.g., 100, 97, 94, 91…).
- The Culinary Toss (For Coordination): Gently toss a soft ball or balloon back and forth with a partner while naming foods by specific colors (e.g., naming only green foods).
- The Calendar Stand (For Leg Strength & Focus): Sit comfortably in a sturdy chair. Every time you stand up, recite the months of the year in reverse order, starting with December.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective,” Stranburg said. “Simple activities can meaningfully engage the brain.”
Layering a simple mental task over a safe physical movement is a powerful habit you can start right now.
Experience the Future of Senior Wellness in Tallahassee
At Westminster Oaks, we believe that maintaining your independence means staying ahead of the curve. By investing in innovative technology like the Dividat Neuro Gym, we are proud to provide older adults with the tools they need to live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.
Experience the future of senior wellness firsthand with our active retirement lifestyle! Contact us today to schedule a personal tour of our premier life plan community in Tallahassee, including our newly renovated fitness center at Westminster Oaks.
