Activities and entertainment play a vital role in the lives of a loved one who has Alzheimer’s Disease, more often than not most who suffer from this horrible disease will feel lost and helpless as they cannot remember who they are or where they are..they experience challenges in verbalizing what they would like or what they want to do. They mostly have a perfectly healthy body impaired by a mind that won’t cooperate.

This feeling of being lost or helpless often triggers anxiety and agitation, they feel trapped. Often knowing exactly what outcome they desire, with no way of verbalizing their wishes. Frustration leads to anxiety and sometimes even tantrums.

So is there a Solution? If so, what is the Solution?

Let’s consider some of the things we can do to help. Making simple activities such as folding laundry, or tackling a recipe like making Jello, baking a box cake and even light gardening will all help to ease your loved ones anxiety. These activities help them retain some of that normalcy they had before their diagnosis, and will help maintain hand and eye coordination which is so easily lost through inactivity due to Alzheimer’s or other Dementias.

Exercise and movement are very important to everyone’s health. It’s easy to forget to incorporate gentle exercise into the daily routines of family members, especially those aging and who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Staying active with walking, stretching, dancing and Thai Chi will all help to keep the body strong, joints flexible and muscles supple. Exercise and an elevated heart rate will help keep the heart muscles in good shape.

Exercise has also been proven to help improve memory and slow down the mental decline associated with Alzheimer's disease by improving blood circulation to the brain, and adding vital oxygen to the blood and ultimately the brain.

Other activities that can help to slow the progression of the disease when done regularly, include playing trivia, board games, and working with puzzles all of which can help stimulate mental activity and have been shown by science to slow the mental decline due to Alzheimer’s by promoting activity in the temporal and hippocampus region of the brain which are vital to improve memory loss and delay the deterioration of the brain cells. These games are simple and fun and are a good way to keep any brain healthy and the mind sharp and focused while also helping to slow down Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

At Evergreen Cottages, we use a structured approach to incorporate a balanced diet, gentle physical exercise and “Yoga for the Brain” into our residents daily lives.Our buildings are specially built to promote movement both inside and outside the physical spaces, healthy living, natural sunshine and brain improving seasonal fresh foods prepared and served daily. We believe that a healthy body helps maintain a healthy mind.

Author: Allie M. is a trained LVN, a certified Assisted Living Care Manager and the Executive Director at Evergreen Cottages Memory Care community in Katy Texas. She works to improve the Jasmine Cottage residents daily lives with loving care and devotion to improving the lives of those living with Alzheimer’s and other Dementias.