How Spending Time Outside Can Benefit Dementia Patients

When spring winds down and summer rapidly approaches, more people take to the outdoors for fun. Spending time in the fresh air and sunlight is important for everyone, but it is especially beneficial to senior adults with cognitive concerns.

Time spent outdoors can be very good for those with dementia for a number of reasons. Read on to find out how spending time outside can benefit seniors with cognitive decline or dementia.

The Benefits of Spending Time Outdoors for Those with Dementia

Being outdoors is a great way for seniors in memory care to have fun and improve their well-being at the same time. The following are just a few of the benefits of spending time outside for dementia patients:

Improves Sleep

One of the biggest benefits of spending time outdoors for those with dementia is the way it improves their sleep quality. Many people with dementia or other cognitive concerns struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. Their cognitive issues can seriously disrupt the circadian rhythm and make it harder to get a good night’s sleep.

Spending some time out in the sun can produce a naturally relaxing feeling that induces sleep more easily that night.

Stimulates the Senses

Another benefit seniors with dementia can experience from being outdoors is the stimulation of the senses. Outdoor spaces are filled with sights, sounds, and smells that can awaken the senses and encourage those with dementia to take in more of their surroundings. When practiced more often, it can have overwhelmingly positive effects on their perception, recognition skills, and more.

Enhances Memory

Seniors in memory care can experience another unexpected advantage of spending time outdoors: improved memory and recall. Spending time in the same environment indoors does not challenge someone’s cognitive abilities. When exposed to various outdoor stimuli, the brain is forced to note different details. For some patients, this may make it easier to have distinct memories and sharpen their recall skills.

Elevates Mood

Many seniors with cognitive concerns struggle with irritability or mood swings. Spending time outside is a great way to balance mood and experience more positive emotions. In fact, being outdoors is often linked to feelings of calm and serenity that can last for several hours or even days afterward.

Caring for Dementia Patients

Caring for someone with cognitive decline can be difficult at times, but many things can make it easier for both them and their caretaker. Spending time outside is a great way to elevate mood, get vital exercise, and even socialize with others. If you are looking for a way to spend time outdoors with a senior loved one in memory care, you can always plan a picnic, walk in nature, or do other relaxing outdoor activities this summer.

Sugar and Memory Loss: What You Need to Know

There are a multitude of natural changes that occur as you get older, including changes to your cognitive function. Many seniors struggle with issues like lack of mental clarity, memory loss, and overall cognitive decline. This has led to an increased number of older adults relying on memory care services for basic needs.

While many instances of cognitive decline are unpreventable and due to factors out of your control, there are certain ways to reduce your risk of having serious issues as time goes on. One way may be reducing your sugar intake. Read on to learn how sugar consumption may be connected to memory loss.

How Does Sugar Impact Your Memory?

Sugary snacks may be a tasty treat, but they can have many negative effects on your health. Studies have shown that even an isolated instance of high blood sugar can do damage to the brain. This happens because elevated glucose levels lead to widespread inflammation throughout the body, including inside the brain. The result can be everything from slowed cognitive function to minor memory deficits.

The more often you consume large amounts of sugar, the more likely you are to experience these issues over time.

Foods to Avoid for Better Cognitive Health

Reducing sugar from your diet may sound like a simple task, but it’s often easier said than done. Many foods contain a high sugar content, and we don’t even realize it until we look further into the nutritional facts. The following are just a few foods that should be cut out of your diet to help support cognitive function:

• Soft drinks

• Artificial fruit juices

• Candies

• Baked goods and pastries

• Canned soups

• Sweetened breakfast cereals

• Granola bars

• Pudding

• Flavored coffee beverages

• Tomato sauces

If you are diabetic or have specific medical concerns that require you to carefully manage your sugar intake, you should always speak to a physician before changing the amount of sugar in your diet. While eliminating these foods can support better brain function, it may not be the ideal solution for everyone. A nutritionist who specializes in seniors and older adults can help you further develop a low-sugar or sugar-free diet.

Following a Brain-Healthy Diet in Memory Care

Following a low-sugar diet may be a good option for older adults in memory care or those concerned about their cognitive health. This diet should be high in beneficial foods, like leafy greens, healthy fats, and lean proteins. The goal is to nourish your body and foster optimal brain health for a long period of time.

If you are unsure of where to begin, there are many resources out there, including senior nutritionists, who can make the process easier.

Summer Safety Tips for Seniors with Dementia

With summer seemingly always right around the corner, you’ve likely already begun planning fun outdoor activities.

However, if you have a parent or another senior loved one with dementia, you must take careful consideration when including them in summertime activities. Too much heat and sun exposure can be bad for anyone, but it’s especially harmful to those with cognitive concerns.

With that in mind, here are some must-know summer safety tips for seniors with dementia in memory care.

Provide Adequate Hydration

One of the most important tips for enjoying summer weather with an older adult is staying hydrated. Seniors with cognitive concerns will often forget to drink throughout the day. It’s therefore essential for your loved one to take in enough fluids to avoid dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Encourage them to sip water regularly, including plain water and water enhanced with electrolytes. Just keep in mind that the latter shouldn’t be consumed excessively, as this can throw off the electrolyte balance in some seniors.

Protect Their Skin and Eyes

Sunburn is a serious concern in the summertime, especially for older adults who require memory care and aren’t as aware of their physical state.

With skin cancer being the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in America, protecting the skin from excess sun exposure is vital. Seniors are at an increased risk of melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.

To lower their cancer risk and protect them from painful sunburn, regularly apply sunscreen of at least SPF 50 or higher. It’s also a good idea to have them wear light clothing that covers as much skin as possible, such as long-sleeved shirts and wide-brimmed hats.

Stay Inside When Necessary

Another tip for safeguarding seniors with dementia during the summer is simply to know their limitations. If it feels too hot for you, it’s definitely too hot for them.

Seniors with cognitive issues can’t assess these conditions on their own, so you need to be prepared to make informed decisions for them. When the weather gets too intense, opt for indoor activities to keep them safe and comfortable.

Keep a Watchful Eye

Drowning is an often-overlooked safety concern during the summertime. Many people enjoy spending time around lakes, pools, or beaches. While this can be a lot of fun, it can also be very dangerous for seniors with dementia.

When you’re enjoying time by the water with an older adult who has dementia, make it a point to keep a watchful eye. Someone should be supervising your loved one at all times to make sure they don’t accidentally fall into the water.

Enjoying the Summer in Memory Care

If you have a senior loved one with dementia, you may think there’s not much they can do to enjoy the summer season. However, as long as you take the necessary precautions and stay vigilant, the older adult in your life can have tons of fun while staying safe.

4 Tips for Moving an Elderly Family Member with Memory Loss

Transitioning a senior loved one into a new home can be stressful. It’s particularly tricky when your family member has cognitive issues like dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Moving can be confusing and upsetting for someone with memory loss, so extra care must be taken. Here are four tips for moving an elderly family member with memory loss.

1. Discuss Everything Beforehand

When you have a family member who requires memory care, discussing things openly with them is important. While cognitive concerns can impact their ability to communicate, it’s still vital that you include them in the planning and details of their move.

Speak directly with them about where they’ll be moving to and how the move will go. Include them in the process by asking them about their concerns and giving them the opportunity to ask questions if they have any.

2. Seek Outside Resources

Moving an elderly family member can be difficult for anyone, which is why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for outside help.

There are many resources dedicated to helping seniors transition into new living situations, including assisted living facilities and part-time caretakers trained in memory care. These groups and professionals can make the moving process much smoother for people with dementia.

3. Go at a Comfortable Pace

For older adults with cognitive concerns, change can feel more intimidating than ever before. When moving into a new home, make sure to go at a pace that’s comfortable for them. Making such a drastic transition too fast can majorly impact their emotional and physical well-being.

Try to slow down the moving process by planning everything in advance and coming up with a detailed timetable, allotting extra time to various tasks as needed. From there, you can do everything at a pace that suits your loved one’s needs.

4. Keep Familiar Items Around

Seniors with memory loss often struggle to relax and find comfort in new environments. This unease can be significantly worse right after their environment has changed. To ease your loved one’s mind, try to keep as many of their favorite personal belongings around as possible.

This can be tricky if they’re moving into a much smaller place, such as an assisted living facility. Try to narrow it down to a handful of their most important possessions or things that hold a special place in their heart. These items can be a source of fond memories of their old home.

Ensuring That Your Elderly Loved One Feels at Home

If you’re moving an elderly family member with dementia, it’s important to make the transition as stress-free for them as possible. From talking things over beforehand to going at a comfortable pace, there are numerous ways to make the moving process easier for a senior adult in memory care.

The Importance of a Safe and Supportive Environment for Memory Care Residents

You may have a loved one who will soon be moving into memory care. If you are still weighing the decision, it’s important to have all of the information you need.

Memory careis designed to keep aging adults with memory disorders safe, secure, and stimulated each day. This takes a weight off of family members and friends who have been caring for their loved one at home.

Here’s why your loved one needs the security and support that memory care offers.

What Is Memory Care?

Memory care is long-term senior care that helps aging adults with all of the tasks of daily living.

In memory care, seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive disorders receive appropriate therapies to strengthen their mental abilities.

Memory care is different from assisted living. Residents in memory care programs are closely supervised at all times to ensure their safety and mental well-being.

Aging adults with memory problems are some of the most vulnerable members of the population. That is why memory care exists — to provide them with the support and assistance that they need.

The Drawbacks of Unsupportive Senior Care

For many different reasons, a family member may choose to care for an aging loved one on their own.

This is usually unpaid work and can involve making many personal sacrifices. With these sacrifices often comes burnout, which can cause stress for both you and the loved one you are caring for.

A family member may have the best of intentions, but memory care is not meant to be taken on by one person. In memory care programs, seniors receive support and therapy from trained medical staff with years of experience.

Unsupportive senior care can lead to serious health consequences for your loved one. They may become stressed and agitated in response to their caregiver’s frustrations.

For anyone of any age, mental health is just as important as physical health when it comes to living a happy, fulfilling life. In memory care, your loved one has everything they need to thrive.

Memory Care Prioritizes Safety and Therapy

Special memory-focused therapies are available in most memory care programs. Along with cognitive therapy, your loved one receives 24/7 supervision and can safely reside in their environment.

At home, it is much more difficult to secure every doorway, hot surface, and window at all times. Memory care is a great option for seniors who face more and more difficulty staying safe due to memory problems.

The doors, windows, and potentially unsafe surfaces in memory care programs are all secured and supervised at all times. This means you never have to worry about your loved one wandering off, getting lost, or harming themselves.

Move Your Loved One to Memory Care for Additional Support

Moving your aging parents or other loved ones into memory care is a wonderful step toward getting them the support that they deserve. Memory care is also a relief for many family caregivers without medical training.

Don’t be afraid to place your loved one in a safe, supportive environment so they can thrive!

Caring for Aging Parents: When Is Memory Care the Right Choice?

Your parents are an important part of your life, and it is understandable to want to care for them for as long as possible. However, memory care might be necessary if their symptoms are putting their safety at risk or becoming too much for you to handle. 

Memory care offers a memory-specific approach to senior health problems. You never have to worry that your loved one is hurt, lost, or neglecting their health when they’re in memory care. 
Here are some signs that it’s time to consider memory care for your aging parents. 

You Feel Caregiver Burnout Creeping In 

If you have chosen to care for your senior parents, you likely want to see them thrive and stay healthy. However, the average family caregiver doesn’t have the knowledge and resources to avoid burnout while always ensuring their loved one’s needs are met. 
Some signs of caregiver burnout include:

• Depression

• Irritability

• Mood swings

• Trouble sleeping

• Low or no appetite

• Stress-eating

• Random physical pain 

• Constant fatigue

• Resentment toward your aging parents​

If you notice any of these signs in yourself or another family caregiver, it’s time to consider memory care. 
The professionals that work in memory care have extensive training and experience that allows them to handle complex senior health problems. You don’t have to do this by yourself. 

Your Parents Are Increasingly Unsafe at Home

The average home has hundreds of potential safety hazards that can be dangerous or even fatal for your aging parents. Hot stoves, electrical wiring, unlocked doors, and high windows can all threaten the safety of your parents as their memory issues progress. 

Memory care communities are much better equipped to avoid unnecessary health risks for your parents. These facilities are supervised and secured 24/7 so that there is a much lower risk of accidental harm. 

They Can’t Take Care of Themselves Anymore

If your parents now struggle to complete basic tasks, like brushing their teeth or showering, it might be time for memory care. 

You might be tempted to take over their care once your aging parents can’t do it for themselves, but this involves risks. Caregiver burnout and lack of medical training are both serious risks to your loved one’s well-being (and your own). 

In memory care communities, staff members are always available to assist with feeding, clothing, showering, and grooming your loved one. They don’t have to take on housekeeping and personal care by themselves.

Find a High-Quality Memory Care Community for Your Parents

You aren’t abandoning your parents by placing them in memory care. That is where they receive the highest quality of caregiving and personal assistance. 
Start researching memory care communities if these signs ring true for your family.