Do you have an aging loved one who is suffering from memory loss? It could be Alzheimer’s disease or another type of early onset dementia, but the result will be very similar in all situations. You’ll watch your loved one slowly forget things they once knew, which can have a profound effect on their quality of life, and even on your own. The good news is that memory care can help in some instances. What should you know about this type of care? How might it benefit your loved one?
Memory Enhanced Activities
You’ll find memory-related care services available through senior care clubs. These are facilities that offer specialized care for seniors and others with dementia-like conditions during the day, offering pickup service in the morning and drop off service in the evening. One of the key features of such a facility is their range of memory-enhanced activities.
What are memory-enhanced activities? Simply put, these are games and activities that help stimulate the memory centers of the brain. They are designed to help preserve existing memories, reducing what your loved one forgets, and even to stimulate the recovery of lost memories.
You’ll find a wide range of activities that fall under this heading, and not all of them are what you might think of as an “activity” in the first place. For instance, a game like “name that song” is very obviously an activity that requires direct mental engagement from participants. However, the facility itself should be engineered in such a way that is just stepping into a particular room can stimulate your loved one’s memories. For instance, furniture and décor, photographs, and accessories from a particular period relevant to your loved one can have a subtle, yet profound effect on their memory centers even without those centers being directly engaged.
Additional Considerations
In addition to memory-enhanced activities, memory care should consist of being surrounded by peers (people similar in age and interests), as well as being in a secured, comfortable setting that reminds your loved one of home. Even discussion groups made up of peers can help stimulate memory centers and stave off further decline.
At The Regency Memory Club, we offer outstanding care for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related conditions in Jackson, NJ. We invite you to learn more about our facility, our dedicated staff, and our memory care services.
