With the amount of people living with Dementia set to rise to one million by 2021, what are we doing to slow down the risks and make life for those individuals easier? We uncover take a look at some simple suggestions that you can try straightaway.
Dementia affects the functioning of the brain. Over time, the disease makes tasks that once would come so naturally, now so very difficult, if not impossible. The deterioration of the brain affects mental abilities, causing problems with thinking, speaking, and mood.
If you know someone with dementia, you know that the disease can completely change them as a person. The loss of control over emotions, memory loss and weakened ability to organise and make decisions affects their independence and confidence. Relying on close friends and family becomes essential.
Yet, there are simple things you can do to make life easier for the person you know with dementia. From memory games to outdoor adventures, small activities can make a huge difference to their life and yours too.
Improve their memory with problem solving games
As dementia can have a detrimental effect on memory, it’s important to try problem solving games to strengthen the mind and improve memory.
The number placement puzzle, Sudoku is a great game to start with. It’s a good stimulation for the brain and is a fun and enjoyable way to pass time. You can buy a Sudoku book or download a Sudoku app and play it alone or challenge each other to see who can finish a sudoku first.
There are also memory tools, from using words and rhymes to mental pictures that can easily be performed and will help improve the cognitive functioning of the brain.
From remembering what to buy in the supermarket, to remembering a special day you shared years ago, adding these memory games to your a daily or weekly routine will can help someone with dementia recall important events that shaped them, and instil them with confidence to take on tasks by themselves.
Make their everyday run smoother with focused apps
There are apps to help you do almost anything in life. From discovering new places in your area to finding out the latest news updates. There is now an app to , and now you can help ease the life for make things easier for someone with dementia with an app.
There are apps that offer reminders to take your medication and alert you if you’re ever low on prescriptions, such as Medisafe. Or to help create a calming and relaxing atmosphere, there are apps that play soothing nature sounds to help ease your mind, just like Relax Melodies.
Encourage a healthy lifestyle with outdoor adventures
Reconnecting with nature can improve your physical and mental wellbeing. The power of the outdoors can benefit those with anxiety and depression, but it can also help those with dementia.
Those suffering with the brain disease often feel like they can’t do certain activities that used to do, which has a knock on effect on their confidence. By concentrating on activities, they can do, like getting outside, can make their life easier and more enjoyable.
Engaging in outdoor activity, from hikes to gardening, has found to positively improve levels of well-being and overall quality of life. Dementia Adventure offers a wonderful service to help those meet like-minded people and explore the great outdoors together. The organisation raises funds to help subsidise the cost of holidays, so it’s more affordable and accessible for everyone.
Dementia can make the simple things in life harder. It’s easy to let the disease take control and get you down, but by using some of our suggestions it can make life that bit easier and more enjoyable. Although there isn’t yet a cure for this brain disease, there are more discoveries of new treatments that will help slow down the risk of developing it. Read more about it more here.