Living with dementia doesn’t mean your aging loved one must give up on hobbies and interests he or she enjoys. Doing activities is excellent for the mind and overall health. Encourage your loved one to try the following engaging activities.
Puzzles & Games
Doing a puzzle, playing a board game, or enjoying another similar activity can boost your loved one’s problem-solving skills and reduce stress. It can build confidence by offering a sense of accomplishment as your loved one completes each puzzle or game. Use manageable games and puzzles that increase engagement instead of causing irritation. Doing so allows your loved one to maintain a better mood while enhancing their memory.
For trusted and reliable dementia care, families can turn to Companioa by Institute on Aging (IOA). As experts in caring for seniors with memory-related conditions, our dementia-certified practitioners will work closely with you to customize a care plan tailored to your loved one’s unique needs, interests, and desires. Our primary goal is to go above and beyond to provide the highest possible level of compassionate care by designing a care plan based on your loved one’s personal history, physical condition, and cognitive abilities.
Music
Connecting to positive thoughts and emotions is one of the top reasons you need to keep your loved one active. Listening to music or playing a musical instrument reduces anxiety and stress, stimulating the mind and alleviating depression and other negative emotions that affect daily actions.
Some seniors with dementia may have difficulty remembering people, places, and things from their past and present, including family members they engage with daily or foods and activities they enjoy regularly. However, music-related memory is one of the longest-lasting forms of memory, so incorporating it into your loved one’s schedule may be helpful.
A highly trained caregiver with experience in caring for seniors with dementia can be a fantastic resource for family members. For reliable dementia and Alzheimer’s care, families can turn to Companioa by IOA. We are a leading provider of professional memory care designed to help seniors maintain a higher quality of life. From our revolutionary care programs to our compassionate and dedicated caregivers, we can meet all of your dementia care needs.
Gardening
Forms of nonverbal communication, such as eye contact, social distance, and body language, are ways individuals with dementia may express themselves as the condition progresses. If your loved one is more inclined to interact this way, incorporate engaging activities like gardening into their weekly schedule. Whether planting flowers, fruits, and vegetables or helping with trees and shrubs, gardening can boost memory, increase sensory stimulation, and enhance cognition.
Arts & Crafts
Being creative is one of the best ways for older adults with dementia to keep their brains active. By engaging in arts and crafts—whether it’s painting pictures, making clay objects, arranging building blocks, or coloring and drawing—your loved one will be able to use their memory in a fun way without being pressured or insecure. Remember that seniors with dementia are more likely to feel isolated based on lack of interaction or declining memory. However, you can enable your loved one to express themself through creating art instead of using words.
Stimulating the brain is one of the reasons seniors with dementia should try arts and crafts. The activities can boost mood and reduce agitation while providing more confidence. Whether your loved one is looking at the crafts or creating them, this activity could be engaging, stir memories, and encourage speech.
For dementia and Alzheimer’s care families can count on, reach out to Companioa by IOA. Our compassionate home caregivers are specially trained and certified in dementia care, and they use revolutionary memory care programs to help seniors delay the progression of dementia. In addition, our state-of-the-art adult day program, which is specifically designed for individuals living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, provides social engagement, a wide variety of cognitively stimulating activities, and group exercises. If your loved one needs assistance with the challenges of aging, reach out to one of our knowledgeable, compassionate Connect Specialists today at (415) 750-4111.