Living Well With Dementia/LWWD/Tools/Caregivers

10 Simple Tips

1) Start with a Good Feeling Each Day


Caregivers have a profound influence on the emotional state of individuals with Alzheimer’s

3) Communicate More

 * 1) Center yourself. As soon as you start to get upset or frustrated, stop and concentrate on taking deep, slow breaths while focusing on something that makes you feel calm and collected
 * 2) Use empathy. Using empathy to connect includes focusing on the experience of your loved one with memory loss. It is important to connect with their feelings, rather than the context of their words.
 * 3) Ask open questions. Use open-ended questions to redirect the conversation and to show that you’re interested in exploring what is important to them. For example, if your loved one is insisting on visiting their deceased mother, rather than reminding them that she passed away, ask her to tell you about her mother and listen with empathy as she expresses her feelings
 * 4) Try asking the extreme. Asking the extreme means that you ask the person to tell you the best or worst thing about what they are expressing.
 * 5) Enter their reality. Unless your loved one is in the very early stage of memory loss and wants to be reminded of a date, time or other reality based topic, join their journey rather than force reality on them.

4) Add Bright Lights


A down-to-earth Alzheimer’s trial provided 4 weeks of tailored light therapy.

The therapy significantly increased sleep quality,efficiency & total sleep duration. Daytime light therapy also significantly reduced rates of depression & agitation.

5) Prepare Midnight Munchies


People living with dementia often have the need to be awake at night. This can cause great concern for safety issues for caregivers. Ie: about falls, leaving the house

A facility in NY found the solution. Giving a nutritious snack allowed the person to  calm and relax and return to bed

6) Ask Medication Questions


People with Alzheimer’s take a lot of medicine. Some boost memory and cognition. Others help mood, behavior and other conditions. Ensure medication is taken safely and correctly!

Learn the Basics

Know each medicine (prescription & over-the-counter).

Ask the doctor or pharmacist:
 * 1) Why is this medicine being used?
 * 2) What positive effects should I look for? When?
 * 3) How long will the person need to take it?
 * 4) How much should he or she take each day?
 * 5) When does the person need to take it?
 * 6) What if the person misses a dose?
 * 7) What are the side effects? What can I do about them?
 * 8) Can this medicine cause problems if taken with other medications?

10) When You Tried Your Best, Know You Did the Best.


Adapted from National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/infographics/make-yourself-priority-too-tips-caregivers