Key Takeaways
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A Sense of Security: Surrounding a loved one with familiar objects, colours, and gadgets acts as a “foundational anchor” for their wellbeing.
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Reduced Cognitive Load: Familiar settings are easier to navigate, which lowers the mental effort required and reduces daily anxiety and confusion.
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Memory Anchors: Personal items like old photos, cherished blankets, or specific furniture work as memory triggers to help start meaningful conversations.
In dementia care, the environment is crucial. It shapes wellbeing and the overall quality of life for a person with dementia. When an environment is safe, familiar, and comforting, it can make a big difference to your loved one’s life. For many families, this means the best environment is home. But there are plenty of other ways to turn any environment into a homely one.
Promotes a sense of security
When you’re in an area where you’re surrounded by familiar objects, sounds, and smells, the familiar environment gives you a foundational sense of security. After all, the feeling of being at home is a powerful anchor that contributes to our overall wellbeing. So, try to bring out your loved one’s favourite old decorations, gadgets, and even toys. Try asking your loved one about their favourite colours and preferences.
Lowers confusion and anxiety
We all know that dementia affects memory and cognitive function. This is something that starts to make the world extremely confusing. Whether a long-term permanent stay home or at home, spending time in a familiar setting requires less cognitive load for navigation and understanding. This predictability takes the pressure off and helps lower the stress and anxiety that come with the uncertainty of life.
Triggers positive memories
We all know the familiar feeling a favourite teddy bear or item of clothing brings. These familiar personal items like photos of special days, a cherished blanket, or even a specific piece of furniture work very well as memory anchors or triggers. Be sure to have favourite items around to help your loved one recall cherished experiences and memories. You can try displaying clothing from special occasions around the home or in your loved one’s bedroom, for example (as long as your loved one doesn’t object to things not being where they expect them to be). Or, try asking your loved one about their trinkets. Familiar personal items are a great way to improve mood and even start conversations with caregivers. Favourite familiar things are also good to have in flexible respite, to help your loved one feel more at ease even when they aren’t at home
Increases comfort and feelings of security
In an unfamiliar or overly stimulating environment, anyone would try to leave or become more than a little stressed. So, it’s not surprising when a person with dementia leaves a place that is strange to them and goes for a stroll. When an environment doesn’t feel familiar, it’s likely that your loved one is trying to find their way home. There’s nothing wrong with walking around a bit. But, when a setting is more familiar, your loved one is more comfortable and at ease.
Improves sleep quality
We all prefer the comfort of our own bedroom. Even the plushest, cosiest hotel rooms have nothing on the feeling of your own mountain of pillows laid out just right, paired with a relaxing podcast or book. If you stay away from home, you probably bring certain things with you to make you feel more at home, right? The same is true for your loved one.
A comfortable, familiar bedroom environment that is quiet, calm and restful is something that can significantly improve sleep patterns. This is particularly important for people with dementia, whose sleep patterns can often be disrupted. But putting this aside, a well-deisnged room can also provide a sense of belonging and safety. This reduces your loved one’s anxiety and promotes good relaxation.
Promotes safety
When you’re in a place that isn’t familiar, you know what it’s like trying to navigate. Despite the host having signs for things like the kitchen or the bathroom, you might still get lost, especially if you don’t know where the light switches are. But when you’re in an intuitively designed place, you have an idea of where everything is, even if you’ve never been there before. When you’re tired and want to sit down, there’s always a chair nearby. This is what we can do as part of good design.
Supportive aids like lamps with touch control, or even just automatic lighting, alongside item finders, mobility aids like walking sticks, medication reminders and blister packs can help your loved one stay more independent, both living at home or in permanent stay care.
Tips for a dementia-friendly environment
So, there’s a lot you can do to make an environment more familiar, whether this is at home or in a care setting. But how does this tie in with making an environment dementia-friendly?
One good memory aid your loved one might benefit from is labelling objects or locations if they tend to forget them. You can also use a noticeboard for events or other things that are important to remember. Sticky notes in prominent places like the fridge or bedroom table or mirror are helpful, too. You can also make sure to place common objects in the same spot every day. Using easy-to-read clocks paired with large calendars around your home with help your loved one stay more connected with the present, too.
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