Enhancing Quality of Life: The Magic of Routine for Dementia Patients
The Role of Routine in Enhancing Memory and Social Skills in Dementia Care
Routine is an essential part of daily life – whether it be at home or in a memory care community. This type of care can pose special challenges as patients with dementia often have difficulty following instructions or adapting to change. Structure, however, can help to reduce stress, improve physical health, and facilitate better memory recollection for those struggling with dementia.
Memory Care Routines
Creating a regular and predictable routine is key to improving the quality of life for those with dementia. Through providing a full-day schedule that begins with a smooth transition to wake-up, you can help ground those who are living with memory issues. In addition, having regular times for meals and snacks helps to regulate blood sugar, meaning physical health can benefit from structure.
Triggers during routine activities can also help jog the memory, something particularly beneficial to those with dementia. Through exposure to simple reminders throughout the day, it can encourage recollection and help create helpful mental habits. Even though those with dementia may not remember the activities or routines, they may remember that they took part in them.
Routine can also improve social skills by giving patients with dementia something to look forward to. Involvement in recreational activities has been linked to higher self-esteem in patients, something that is enhanced even more by routine. Social skills can also be improved through companionship with staff, volunteers, and other patients.
The greatest benefit of structure in memory care is that it can reduce stress and anxiety. A plain, unstructured day can be confusing and difficult to process. Questions such as why certain people are in the home, why they need complete jobs, or why something was asked of them can go unanswered, leading to extreme frustration and worry.
Memory Care Ritualized Approach
Aspects of routine such as participating in orientation activities, developing morning rituals, establishing a bedtime routine, and engaging in pleasant conversations while connecting with the environment can drastically reduce behaviors. Similarly, especially emotional events such as holidays are a good opportuninity to create ritualized approaches that can provide comfort to those with dementia.
In conclusion, routine is an incredibly important aspect of providing memory care. Through creating an environment that is stable, organized, and predictable, dementia patients benefit greatly by being able to trust that they understand the situation and that thought processes are not too demanding. Making sure the routine is predictable and includes enjoyable and calming activities gives those living with dementia an improved sense of self and safety, vastly decreasing stress and anxiety.
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For more information about memory care in Casper, WY, please give us a call at 307.232.0100.