Growing old affects everyone differently. While some individuals remain active and healthy throughout their golden years, others require assistance daily. One of the most valuable things that friends and family members provide is contact and support, even if a senior family member lives far away or resides in a retirement community or an assisted living community.
Aging brings new challenges, which are often scary for seniors. Remaining in contact with loved ones provides comfort and helps seniors to enjoy their remaining years to the fullest. Take the initiative and keep in close contact when supporting senior family members in memory care. As the mind changes, elderly persons dealing with varying degrees of memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s may feel confused and afraid of what the future holds.
Recognizing the Difference Between Forgetfulness and Dementia
Memory lapses happen to everyone. However, when forgetfulness occurs frequently, it could be a medical condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. An aging senior experiencing frequent forgetfulness may require supervision around the clock for safety reasons.
A memory care living community provides long-term care services for residents who can no longer live independently. Caregivers assist with everyday tasks, such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Residents are also encouraged to participate in activities that make them happy and to do them on a routine schedule. Sticking with a routine reduces stress and anxiety flare-ups that many memory loss patients struggle with daily.
Senior Living Caters to All Degrees of Medical Needs
A senior living community offers a safe and secure environment for residents with varying degrees of needs. Some residents live in independent living quarters, while others reside in assisted living apartments or memory care quarters. Senior living spaces make allowances for individual requirements. The rooms feel like home while providing amenities for each resident’s physical, emotional, and social needs.
Memory Loss Affects One’s Ability to Communicate
Communication is greatly affected by memory loss. Caregivers are encouraged to be patient with senior residents in memory care in Encinitas, CA, who are finding it difficult to speak. When memory recall becomes difficult, the natural response is anger, agitation, and frustration. A support network, including family, friends, and the senior’s caregivers, can lessen the fear by being patient and sympathetic. Instead of getting annoyed when a senior cannot recall things as they used to, speak calmly and offer reassurance to calm them down.
Remaining Active and Healthy While Dealing With Dementia
It’s often challenging for memory loss individuals to remember simple everyday tasks such as eating. Offer choices and prepare simple meals rather than trying to make an elaborate meal for a person with memory problems. Encourage a struggling senior to do simple activities such as gardening, exercising, baking, and even household chores to keep active. Dancing and mini workouts are fun, as well as walking with a friend or caregiver. People living with memory loss often lack the ability and desire to start activities, but with encouragement, they may join in.
Safety is a Top Priority
Whether a dementia individual is living in an assisted living community or being cared for at home by family members, safety is necessary to prevent falls and to allow for freedom of movement. Installing handrails on stairs, putting safety grips on steps, and removing small rugs and electrical cords make the environment safer for persons with impaired memory. Decluttering rooms and even removing curtains and objects with busy patterns help eliminate confusion in a memory-impaired individual when the mind can’t make sense of things around it. Providing well-lit areas for walking encourages exercise while making it easier to move around. Putting safety plugs in unused electrical outlets and installing security locks on outside doors all add a degree of protection that aids in providing a safe environment for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Caring and Compassionate Staff Members Believe That Everyone Deserves a Fulfilling Life
Summerfield of Encinitas Memory Care is an assisted living community in Encinitas, CA. Our goal is to provide seniors with amenities and services that make the golden years an experience to remember. Our caregiving team provides memory loss patients with a great life through daily activities and programs that enrich well-being on every level.
Memory loss patients benefit when family members and friends participate in their care. In-person visits, phone calls, and updates from caregivers assure family members that loved ones are experiencing the best care possible. Incorporating technology that tracks daily activity and informs the extended family about upcoming events, menus, and any progress an individual has made helps to maintain a valuable connection between the residents and those who love them.