How to Provide Sensory Stimulation for Older Adults with Dementia

Sensory stimulation provides many health benefits for seniors with dementia, including decreased agitation, better sleeping patterns, and less restlessness. It is important for caregivers to do everything possible to boost quality of life for seniors living with this disease. Take a look at how you can provide sensory stimulation for your elderly loved one if he or she has dementia. 

Encourage Dancing

Many aspects of daily living provide seniors with socialization and sensory stimulation, such as doing exercises, walking through the neighborhood, and dancing. Family caregivers should encourage their loved ones to take up dancing, regardless if it is inside of the home or in a program with other seniors. Dancing is an activity that can be tailored to meet the needs and abilities of seniors with dementia, and it can also boost their mood and decrease many behavioral issues. Dancing stimulates multiple senses, including touch, sight, and hearing. 

Dementia is one of the many diseases that can impact a senior’s overall health. Seniors who want to remain healthy as they age can benefit in a variety of ways when they receive professional home care. Dayton, Ohio, Home Care Assistance is here to help your loved one accomplish daily tasks, prevent illness, and focus on living a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Organize a Meal Prep Party

Meal prep parties are a fun way to create healthy meals while stimulating the senses. Keep in mind the sense of taste is one of a senior’s most pleasurable senses. While working in the kitchen, you can stir up memories of the past. This process is known as gustatory stimulation, and the more emphasis family caregivers put on tasting and smelling the food, the better it is for seniors with dementia. The foods seniors with dementia eat play an important role in their treatment process. Therefore, you should include brain foods in your loved one’s diet plan.

It can be challenging preparing food for seniors with dementia, but a professional caregiver can help your loved one maintain a nutritious diet. In Dayton, Ohio, home care agencies can be a great boon to seniors. With the help of the caregivers at Home Care Assistance, your aging loved one can lead a happier and healthier life. We offer a revolutionary program called the Balanced Care Method, which encourages seniors to eat nutritious foods, exercise and socialize regularly, and focus on other lifestyle factors that increase life expectancy.

Start a Garden

Anything seniors touch can stimulate their senses. Working in the garden is a safe activity for seniors with dementia that allows them to touch different tools, plants, and other gardening objects. Every object has a temperature, shape, and texture. Gardening is considered tactile stimulation that can boost short and long-term memory. In addition to touch, gardening can stimulate other senses such as sight, hearing, and smelling. 

Host a Movie Marathon

Hosting a movie marathon in the home is a great way to stimulate your loved one’s sense of sight. Visual stimulation is how seniors with dementia gain most of their information, and sight also offers the broadest possibilities for stimulation. Watching movies could entertain your loved one and trigger memories. However, it may be difficult for seniors with dementia to follow plot lines, so family caregivers should choose older films that have less complex storylines.
Apart from regular sensory stimulation, older adults with dementia may need assistance with day-to-day tasks. Performing daily tasks while simultaneously managing the symptoms of a serious illness can be challenging for seniors. The Dayton live-in care experts at Home Care Assistance are available 24/7 to make sure your loved one has the care he or she needs to remain safe and comfortable while aging in place. To learn about our revolutionary home care methods, give us a call at [hca_phone] today.

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