While there are some medications used to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, their effects are limited. There are also known lifestyle modifications that can keep your loved one healthier and happier for a longer period of time. While keeping your loved one active may not lengthen their lifespan, it will increase the quality of the life they have left.
The tenth chapter of my teaching memoir, Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s, describes my husband’s, Harvey’s, remarkable long distance running career, and how I tried to keep him physically active throughout his life with dementia. The book doesn’t spend as much time discussing how I tried to keep him active mentally and socially. All three components are important, and each person living with Alzheimer’s will have varying degrees of success in these three areas.
Keeping your loved one physically active for as long as possible has many benefits. Increased blood flow to the brain brings more oxygen so that the brain can function optimally. Strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility are all important, and they can impact long-term care by avoiding being chair-bound and bed-bound for a longer period of time. Physical activity may also help with avoiding constipation and promoting better sleep. Here is a link that I found that gives some examples of activities you can try.
Keeping your loved one mentally active has also proven to have long term benefits. Studies have suggested that increased mental activity may slow the decline of the disease. Mental activities will obviously have to change over time as your loved one progresses in the disease. Early in the diagnosis, your loved one might be encouraged to learn something new—a new language, musical instrument, or hobby, for example. You can foster discussions of what they’ve read, seen, or heard. Doing calculations, telling stories from the past, dancing, working puzzles and playing simple games are other ideas.
Keeping your loved one active socially is important in preventing isolation, which can lead to further decline. This might come from friends, neighbors, senior centers, or your place of worship. Keeping those ties in place will help your loved one feel connected. Adult day care and respite care centers do an excellent job with this.
Here is a link with a list of 50 activities that you can do with your loved one, encompassing all three areas of activity.
All three of these types of activity—physical, mental, and social— are important for caregivers as well. So why not pursue them together? Walking, doing tai chi, or chair yoga together are ideas. You could both take up guitar, photography, or knitting, and discuss the latest news events. Social isolation is not good for caregivers either, so go on outings together and spend time with friends. And added bonus—all three of these lifestyle activities decrease your, the caregiver’s, chances of developing dementia.