RetirementHomes.com - Brain Health

7 Tips for Communicating with Someone with Dementia

aadmin — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 14:02:32 +0000

Dementia is a progressive illness that can affect an individual's ability to remember a conversation, fact or name of family members or friends. This can be frustrating not only for the person with the illness, but for people around them. They could be having a conversation and forget what they were talking about by losing train of thought or have difficulty in organizing words logically. When communicating with someone who has dementia or Alzheimer's Disease, there are several ways to help improve conversation.

1. Use familiar words and speak clearly and slowly. This allows time for a response and to comprehend what is being said.

2. Be patient and supportive. You need to let the person know that you understand what they are saying and show that you care about what it is they are talking about.

3. Give encouragement to keep trying to say what is on their mind. Sometimes the person with dementia will get frustrated or stop talking, but with a little encouragement they may continue what they were talking about or start up a new conversation.

4. Give time to respond. Avoid any kind of interruption. If the person with dementia has trouble organizing their thoughts then let them know that you are there to listen. Don't interrupt when they are speaking and allow them to say what is on their mind and when there is a pause let them know you want to hear what they have to say.

5. Give simple choices. Always avoid anything that may be too complicated such as a large menu of choices. Go to a familiar restaurant and ask them what they want, and suggest their favorite dish. Otherwise they may feel frustrated because they can't remember what certain foods taste like or what certain things are.

6. Avoid correcting the person with dementia. This is not encouraging them to keep talking when you correct what they say, or correct the facts they are talking about. This will help prevent arguing, as well.

7. Limit distractions around you as much as possible. Sometimes this can be very difficult, but if it is hard to hold a conversation then ask them to point out what they are referring to or write it down or even use gesturing. This allows for a wider range of communication to happen.

These seven tips will help improve the conversation you will have with a family member or friend that has dementia. It can be frustrating for everyone involved, but with a little patience and encouragement to keep a conversation going, communication will become a little easier.

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Alzheimer's Care

Brain Health

Senior Living

How wearable technology can keep you younger - longer

aadmin — Mon, 25 May 2015 20:42:09 +0000

How Wearables Can Help You Stay Healthy

From the Pebble to the Apple Watch to Samsung Galaxy Gear, smartwatches are the talk of the town. Are you ready to jump on the bandwagon?

Wearables are great for keeping track of your health and keeping you safe as you age. These are some of my favorite wearables for seniors.

Track your steps

It is important to keep active, especially as you age. Fitness trackers like the Fitbit make exercising fun and you will love watching your step count increase.

You can set activity goals and compete with your friends to see who moves the most. The companion app helps you record what you eat and track how much you move each day. You can even wear it to bed and learn how well you sleep.

Exercise doesn’t have to be a bore. Make it fun with a fitness tracker.

Improve your posture

Remember when Mom used to remind you to sit up straight? It’s easy to slouch, but your back will hate you for it later. Posture monitors like Lumo Back will help you train to have good posture.

These devices vibrate when you slouch for too long. You can wear it around your abdomen or on your neck. That little reminder will help you take notice of how you hold yourself.

Sitting up straight will increase your core and back strength, which is key to long-term health. You will feel better and look more confident with your back straight and your head held high.

Stay safe

Medical alerts are an important part of a successful aging in place plan. You can connect to personalized help at the push of a button. Seek the newest models with fall detection technology like those from Alert1. These pendants sense if you fall and call for help.

Get moving

It’s easy to plop down in front of the computer or TV and sit there for hours. When you emerge, you feel stiff and realize you haven’t stood up in hours. And that’s dangerous. Sitting all day can increase your risk of diabetes, heart attacks, and obesity.

Activity reminders, like those in the Apple Watch, help you avoid the trap of sitting all day. Every couple of hours, you will feel a buzz from your wrist as a reminder to get up and move. Even a small bit of walking around can improve your health.

See your improvement

Want to know how effective your workouts are? Heartbeat sensors like those in the Samsung Galaxy Gear help you get a more accurate picture of your fitness. Working out makes your heart stronger. With a heartbeat sensor you can see your improvement. As you get more fit, your heart won’t have to work as hard.

Recover faster

Physical therapy is challenging. Dutch fashion designer Pauline van Dongen has created a sweater that makes it a bit easier.

This sweater acts like a wearable physical therapist. It is woven with sensors and conductive fibers that record motion data. It tracks your progress as you go through the rehabilitation process. When you do physical therapy exercises, it makes sounds to help you do the exercises the right way.

While not yet available to consumers, the wearable physical therapy sweater is coming soon. Rehabilitation is difficult, but this new technology makes it easier. You will get better faster. And you will do it by wearing a comfortable sweater.

Wearables Are Here To Stay

With the rise of wearables we can know more about our health than even before. These gadgets will help you keep track of your progress and encourage you to stay active and healthy.

And this is only the beginning. The future is here, and it is making aging easier than ever.

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Brain Health

Gadget Reviews

Learning and Technology

The best creative activities for seniors

aadmin — Sun, 17 May 2015 17:51:46 +0000

When it comes to caring for the elderly, there are some obvious things that come to mind, and physical health is foremost among them. Given the prevalence of medical conditions relating to the body among the elderly, concerns about broken bones, strokes, and so forth are all vital aspects of care. However, one thing that can sometimes sadly be overlooked is the mental component of elderly care.

Why We Should Care About The Mind

There are a number of reasons to give higher priority to the mental considerations of caring for the elderly. None of us would be happy with a life devoid of distractions and entertainment, of course, but even better than that is active creative work. This is vital not only for ensuring the personal wellbeing of residents in terms of happiness, but can also serve as a crucial part of recovery from an incident such as a stroke, and as a useful tool to help slow the progression of maladies such as Alzheimer's Disease.

Creative activity can best be thought of as doing for the mind what physical activity does for the body - it helps to keep the mind sharp and engaged. Whilst this can be brought about in other, more passive ways, being engaged in the act of creating is more powerful because it engages more of the brain, including parts that otherwise might not always be put to use in daily life. In psychological terms, being creative also helps provide a sense of both usefulness and satisfaction, and it has been said by philosophers since ancient times that the best life is one where people are healthily challenged by creative work.

Types Of Creative Work The Elderly Can Perform

There is a tremendous variety of creative work that a person can engage in, but sometimes the elderly are more limited due to physical or mental conditions in what they can achieve. Here are some of the creative activities the elderly are often able to perform and benefit from, as well as notes on where difficulties may arise;

Painting can be a wonderful hobby that engages the mind, but it can also be made difficult by conditions which affect the arms or hands, such as a palsy.
Pottery can similarly be a great way to combine mental and physical activity, but it does require a measure of physical endurance that some elderly people may lack.
Writing is another superb way to engage the mind. In some cases, dictation could be preferred instead of writing or typing.
Creating music is a wonderful way to express creativity, as music itself can have beneficial uses as well. In addition it may be possible to engage other residents who play, or are learning to play, instruments.
There are also a wide array of crafting activities that can be undertaken, ranging from cross-stitching to woodwork to origami.

Whether individually or in groups, and whatever degree of physical activity the work involves, creative activities for the elderly should form a core component of their care. Providing both mental stimulation and emotional satisfaction, it cannot go overlooked.

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Brain Health

Entertainment and Hobbies

Hobbies

Seniors, those who love them, and substance abuse

aadmin — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 19:05:40 +0000

Across the United States and Canada, nearly 10 per cent of the population are considered to be abusers of alcohol or drugs. And while drug and alcohol abuse is a large concern for teenagers and other adolescents, evidence suggests that a growing number of Baby Boomers and other seniors are also becoming addicted to alcohol, illicit drugs, and other illegal and harmful substances.

But it’s not just the addicts themselves who are suffering at the hands of these substances; it’s also those closest to these addicts, including their friends, family members, and spouses and partners.

Denise Krochta, a radio host and author based in Carlsbad, California, spoke to RetirementHomes.com about older people and addiction, and said that while Baby Boomers and older seniors both have widespread usage of illegal drugs – as well as overuse of alcohol – the mindset is very different between the two groups.

“Baby Boomers...are a unique population in itself. Almost all of them either experimented with or regularly used pot or alcohol and other illicit drugs of the times back and many still don't consider misuse or abuse as serious,” Krochta said.

“The older seniors are more likely to just get caught up in addiction. Alcohol, because it has been legal for so long, is commonly abused among the elderly, and to add to that, almost all seniors are using legally proscribed prescription drugs for all kinds of ailments, which have potential to be addictive,” she added.

Krochta, author of “Sweat: A Practical Plan For Keeping Your Heart Intact While Loving An Addict,” entered the world of substance abuse about 10 years ago when she discovered that her then teenage son was addicted to prescription drugs, has since branched out and now coaches family members on how to maintain good relationships with their loved ones who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.

With older people, Krochta told RetirementHomes.com that one of the biggest challenges is the societal stigma that exists about substance abuse, mental illness, and other related topics, which can make it very difficult for people who need help leaving drug and alcohol addiction to receive the important help that they need.

“As long as addicts are considered criminals I don’t think there will be change in the stigma. Also, like mental illness, it seems to make people embarrassed and ashamed to acknowledge this is a fact of life in their world, so they hide it,” Krochta said.

So what can the friends, family members and partners of Baby Boomers and seniors who are suffering from substance abuse do with their loved ones, and how can they help? Some starting points can be finding a support group or other means of assistance, both professional (such as addictions counselors) or supportive friends and family.

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Caring for seniors with dementia

aadmin — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 18:53:03 +0000

Taking care of a senior with dementia, including Alzheimer's, requires patience and dedication. Dementia may progress slowly giving family and friends an opportunity to seek help from medical specialists in the field of geriatrics.

There are more medications on the market now to help people with Alzheimer's. who are forgetting the names of close friends and family member. They may even be forgetting how to care for themselves.

Communicating

If you are assisting someone with dementia, schedule feeding and bathing at a time when the person is less likely to be confused. People coping with dementia may be able to bathe and dress themselves at certain times. Also schedule medical appointments and other activities for this time, often midday.

Be flexible in your timing for activities. If the patient does not feel like eating at a given time, don't force the meal. Ask the patient what he or she thinks would be a good time for eating. Also ask the patient about food preferences based on dietary recommendations from the patient's doctor.

Allow the patient to become involved in all of his or her activities as much as possible. People who have taken care of themselves most of their lives may not like being dependent on someone else. They need to be involved and reassured that you there to help them when needed because you care.

Limit choices for most things so that the person does not have to make decisions. Making decisions is difficult for a person with a confused mind. Distractions such as television or other noise should be removed while the patient is eating, bathing or becoming involved with other activities.

People with dementia often remember things from the past. If communication is difficult, try music from past decades. Craft work such as knitting or painting may be a way to communicate with a dementia patient.

Safety and comfort

An elderly patient must be in a safe environment. This includes flooring that is non-slip, secure and easy to walk on without tripping. An elderly person with or without dementia may walk with a cane or walker. Avoid throw rugs.

Lock cabinets and drawers that might contain harmful object or medications. This is similar to the procedure used for toddlers, keeping certain things out of reach.

Maintain a comfortable indoor environment. Make sure air filters are cleaned or changed on the heating and air conditioning system to keep allergens out of the air. The indoor temperature should be comfortable for patients and caregivers. Elderly people, especially those with dementia, may be more sensitive to cold.

Your home that is shared with an elderly person should be fireproof. It's not uncommon for a person with dementia to turn on a stove burner to make tea or soup and forget about it. You must have fire alarms and fire extinguishers handy even though you hope they will never be used.

Watching someone you love deteriorate mentally and physically is always difficult. Support from other family members and friends is important. Your care giving will be appreciated.

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Brain Health

A look at mental illness in the elderly

aadmin — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:13:34 +0000

The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, and mental health advocacy groups across North America are using this month as an opportunity to educate and inform the general public about the widespread reality of mental illness.

And although mental illness does not discriminate by age, race, sex or income bracket, it does disproportionally affect seniors and the elderly more than other age groups. About 20 per cent of people aged 65 and older suffer from some kind of mental illness, according to data from the American Psychological Association.

Although the numbers are dramatic, mental illness is not a monolith. Rather, mental illness can take multiple forms, from Alzheimer’s Disease to depression, as well as a wide variety of types of dementia.

Here is a quick guide to the most prominent forms of mental illness among seniors:

Alzheimer’s Disease: With about five million sufferers in the United States, Alzheimer’s is also the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. The disease degenerates brain cells, and causes sufferers to become unable to perform simple daily tasks, and eventually it can be fatal. Alzheimer’s is strongly correlated to age, with about 95% of Americans with the disease are aged 65 and older.

Depression: As with Alzheimer’s Disease, depression affects people of all ages, but seniors and the elderly suffer disproportionally, and the risk for depression rises with advanced age. Suicide rates, which serves as a common yardstick for depression levels, is about twice the rate in the United States for people aged 75 and older, compared to younger Americans.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): Advanced age can typically be expected to affect certain changes in the human body – vision problems and slower movement, for example – some cognitive decline is also not unusual, and may not be anything to worry about. However, more advanced signs, such as consistent forgetfulness, may be a sign of MCI, which is not technically a form of dementia, but is still a condition that can cause difficulty and hardship among sufferers.

There are many other forms of mental illness and dementia where seniors face suffering, but according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the most important steps caregivers and family members of seniors – as well as older people themselves – are preventative. Although some diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, are not currently not known to be themselves preventable, physical and mental exercise, as well as regular medical checkups and seeking immediate medical attention at the sight of anything unusual, will be the best measures older people and their loved ones can take.

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Music brings back Memories for Alzheimer's Patients

aadmin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:08:20 +0000

Music has permeated business settings for many years, especially the hospitality industry.

Designed music streams through restaurants and hotels to help clients relax, identify with brands, and reach for their pocket books.

Leanne Flask, from Austin, TX, has been in the vanguard of branded background music for over a decade. Now, her aural role has expanded into Co-founder, Chief Content Officer of Coro Health, where she develops streaming music for healthcare environments.

Under Flask's guidance, Coro Health's programs help stimulate cognition and alleviate depression in Alzheimer's patients. The programs are set up on streaming platforms through computers or recently launched apps for iPhone and iPad.

According to Flask, the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is the center for music, memories, and emotions. The MPFC is one of the last sections of the brain to degenerate in Alzheimer's and remains accessible to music's therapeutic effect.

Alzheimer's patients can lose familiarity with their families, but a song can facilitate the return of memory. Long-term patients with Alzheimer's will talk during familiar songs and recognize family members.

"Alzheimer's brings on stress and sadness for patient and family members," Flask said. "Interaction with family members becomes meaningful by playing a variety of designed music."

Flask’s initiation into music's healing effects began with studies in classical piano, oboe, and opera. She volunteered for a high school program for children with special needs, practicing her musical theater songs during supervision.

While sitting on the floor and singing, a non-communicative autistic boy approached her and crawled up on her lap, put his hands on her throat, and began humming with her. She realized that music was much more powerful than she’d thought.

"It plays in space, and makes us react on many levels."

As a business woman, she branched into branding and music and gained success in music design. But she returned home to Kansas to visit her mother who'd suffered an aneurysm.

“She used to play for me when I sang opera, so I sang for her,” said Flask. "She didn’t recognize anyone else but she recognized me and sang with me.”

Flask predicts that Coro Health's concept will gain wider acceptance in the aging community. “The technology of therapeutic music will evolve,” she said. “All that’s needed is a cell phone or a computer or a tablet.”

Creation of meaningfully designed music gives hope to people with Alzheimer's and their families.

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Family and Personal Care

Senior Living

The unknown, ugly face of Alzheimer's Disease

aadmin — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:02:13 +0000

Alzheimer’s Disease is often seen as an illness which robs sufferers of their most precious memories, sometimes to the point where those with Alzheimer’s don’t even remember who their loved ones are.

But Alzheimer’s Disease does more than attack attack people’s minds; it is also a fatal illness.

As reported recently by NPR.org, recent statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association found that the illness is now the sixth most-common cause of death in the United States, with a jump of 68 per cent from 2000 to 2010.

According to Dr. Maria Carrillo, a neuroscientist with the Alzheimer’s Association, an aging population is the prime cause for the growing number of deaths from Alzheimer’s.

“We're living longer,” Dr. Carrillo told NPR.org. “And unfortunately age is still the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.”

Another health expert, professor Susan Mitchell of Harvard University, told the news source that the deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s are probably significantly higher than current estimates, in part because many Alzheimer’s sufferers also have other illnesses, and those are often listed as the cause of death.

There are an estimated five million Americans with Alzheimer’s Disease today, and that number is expected to grow to almost 14 million people by the year 2050.

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Brain Health

5 Reasons Why Exercise Protects Aging Brains - AARP

aadmin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:08:23 +0000

AARP published an article earlier this month extolling the virtues of exercise to protect aging brains. The advocacy group for seniors reported on a study by researchers with Scotland's University of Edinburgh.

Here are the 5 major points of the article:

1) Physically active seniors had less brain shrinkage than those with less exercise.

2) Exercises to keep the brain active included household chores to keep fit, moderate exercise or competitive sport several times per week

3) More exercise leads to less brain damage and more grey matter, commonly considered to be the 'thinking' cells.

4) Exercise increases the oxygen level of blood, to maintain healthier brain tissues. Walking is just as effective as running or lifting weights in terms as burning calories.

5) Social and cerebral activities, like going out, reading or socializing, displayed no protective effect on brain changes. Researchers suggested that seniors keep their brain teaser puzzles, their positive effects on the brain hadn't been measured, yet.

Assisted Living and Continuing Care residences maintain strong exercise programs for their residents.

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Brain Health

Brain fitness: How you can use technology to keep your brain healthy

aadmin — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:00:39 +0000

Our recent appreciation that the human brain can be shaped and is affected by environmental input is important. We refer to this shaping or sculpting of the brain as “neural plasticity.” This is not a new concept, however, and many such as Dr. Donald Hebb, a Canadian psychologist, served as a pioneer in this area of study many years ago.

Our understanding that the human brain can be shaped by environmental input provides an entire new way of appreciating our control, to some degree, over the structure and function of our brain. My work is dedicated to brain health and I try to teach all about the miracle of the human brain and how lifestyle is important to the health of the brain.

The renewed excitement surrounding neural plasticity has literally placed the human brain on the radar screen of the American psyche. Society is now interested in the brain, how it works, and what we can do to nurture our brain. Indeed, there is recognition at the highest levels of academic inquiry about the importance of studying what input and what activities can potentially promote the health and even prevent disease of the brain. The media and typical avenues of information dissemination to the general public are now filled with stories on the brain and brain health. I remain quite busy delivering keynote presentations across the world on my Brain Health Lifestyle ® and in helping companies, schools, and organizations develop their own brain health culture. In short, brain health is now the most popular topic in all of health care!

While nutrition, physical activity and exercise, and spirituality have emerged as “hot” areas of interest within brain health, mental stimulation continues to be an important and critical part of the brain health story. Business enterprises have now emerged to try and apply products or services that put into practice the power of neural plasticity. One example of such a business enterprise is “brain fitness” that tends to be delivered on a virtual or online platform. Some estimates are that this is a multi-million dollar business that is only growing.

How does Mental Stimulation Work?

Brain fitness is one form of mental stimulation, one of the five critical factors in my brain health lifestyle ®. There are certainly many forms of non-virtual mental stimulation that can occur such as travel, gardening, reading, writing, and learning a language. Regardless, if an activity is “novel and complex” your cortex, the conscious information processing part of your brain, will be engaged. The cortex is where brain health occurs. Brain cells react to novel and complex stimuli by generating new branches of the cell known as dendrites. The more dendrites and cellular connections developed over a lifespan the more “brain resilience” you develop.

Brain resilience is a type of natural defense that can delay onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It does not prevent and it certainly does not cure. Brain fitness can be a type of novel and complex stimuli to help the brain build brain resilience. It is not a clinical intervention; it is a brain health promoting exercise.

Fitbrains and Brain Health

I have consulted with several companies in the brain fitness space and I served on a panel for the Wall Street Journal that reviewed the major businesses in this space. The panel decided we need to continue to conduct research on the effects of engaging in online brain fitness, help the public understand the role of brain fitness, and encourage continued development of brain fitness programs that are practical, relevant to daily life, and fun.

Brain fitness typically involves online cognitive exercises in areas of memory, attention, visual-spatial, executive, and language domains. The exercises are often presented in the form of brain games. I serve as the Chief Scientific Officer for Fitbrains, Inc. a leader in the brain fitness space. Fitbrains, Inc. provides mental exercises in the form of practical and fun games that help the consumer train the cognitive domains mentioned earlier. Apple recently released a new App, Fitbrains Trainer, and many people across the world are using it.

I would encourage everyone to take some time and try the Fitbrains trainer APP on your iPhone or iPad and determine how you feel after a brain fitness exercise. It is important to recognize that such effort facilitates brain health, as you will be engaged in novel and complex mental activity. It is not disease preventing. This can be a fun and worthwhile part of your daily brain health lifestyle ®.

Good Luck and build brain resilience today!

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