People with Dementia have changes in how they perceive and respond to the world around them. Dementia also significantly affects all areas of functioning. However, it has a huge impact on memory. Dementia Home care services include many daily activities such as getting dressed, eating, etc. that were once done, but have now become confusing and overwhelming for these individuals.

In addition, many people are unable to perform simple tasks that used to be done earlier. Perhaps the most challenging issue for individuals with Dementia is the uncertainty associated with every aspect of their lives, changes to environment, or expected events can lead to anxiety, agitation, and emotional distress.

Caregivers often seek answers to questions regarding how to manage and support a dementia patient including how to provide comfort, and reassurance. One way caregivers can help relieve some of the uncertainty for their loved ones is by establishing a routine for the person with Dementia.

A consistent daily routine will help provide structure and help eliminate confusion. Establishing and maintaining a routine will also make a person’s life easier, whether the caregiver is in a long-term care facility or at home. Therefore, caregivers who understand the importance of routine for individuals with Dementia will have a better chance of successfully supporting their loved ones with dignity and independence.

Here, in this article, we will provide proper understanding of why developing a routine is important for individuals with dementia and how to successfully create a routine for them. Let’s check in detail!

What is Dementia?

Dementia is much more than just memory loss. The effects of Dementia can cause problems in judgement, decision making, emotional regulation, and ability to keep track of time. Seniors with Dementia can have trouble remembering what day it is, what they need to do next, and how long something lasts which can be frustrating and frightening for them and cause them to withdraw from their surroundings.

Challenges Faced by Seniors with Dementia

Daily challenges seniors with Dementia face include:

• Confusion and Disorientation

Seniors may not recognize familiar people or places, creating anxiety and insecurity for them.

• Anxiety and Agitation

A lack of understanding of what is happening or what they should be doing will create restlessness and emotional outbursts.

• Sleep Disruptions

Difficulty adjusting to sleep/wake cycles will cause a restless night for caregivers.

• Difficulty Completing Everyday Tasks

Simple tasks such as bathing, eating, and getting dressed often require assistance and reassurance.

Thus, understanding such daily challenges is the first step to providing compassionate care for seniors suffering from memory loss, as routine is often the missing piece that makes it all fit. And, the seniors will feel safe and grounded in their environment.

Benefits of Routine for Seniors Living with Dementia

Elderly people with Dementia can gain valuable benefits from having daily routines in their life. For those living with Dementia, structured routines provide lower stress levels, improved functional levels and also boosts mental health by providing consistency and predictability within the elderly and their care providers. The top benefits are!

Offer Security to Elderly Individuals

Predictability and routine helps provide security to elderly individuals. An elderly individual will have a sense of security knowing what to expect every day.

Decreased Agitation Within an Elderly Individual

One of the first streamlining processes that occur with an individual with Dementia is a decrease of agitation when they are placed on a predictable, consistent daily routine.

Establishing consistent times for meals, activities and rest provides less confusion and minimizes the level of emotional blowing up from occurring.

Overall, these types of benefits for becoming familiar with a routine become very important to an individual with memory loss as they can create anxiety when they do not know what will happen next. Hence, having a routine can be very important for an individual living with memory loss.

Increases the Memory and Cognitive Functioning

Although Dementia destroys memory, repetitive structures can still support elderly individuals to carry out regular activities through memory support strategies.

Strengthens Memory

While short-term memory will start to deteriorate, it will also allow repetition of familiar actions to become habitual. Basic daily tasks, such as brushing the teeth or preparing the meal, create a reinforcement for the brain’s long-term memory for older adults. The repetitive structure of these activities provides a unique behavior that uses some of the older adult’s procedural memory, which usually lasts for a longer time period.

Maintaining Consistency

When a task is completed in conjunction with a consistency of associated cues, older adults begin to develop awareness of sequential activity. It is for this reason that the majority of tasks associated with older adults are completed in a routine manner. All day-to-day routines allow for a clear association of completing tasks in the same order of cue.

Ability to be Independent

Consistent daily routines provide an increased opportunity for an older adult to perform in an independent way. The ability to identify the daily patterns of activity provides the opportunity for independent functioning; therefore, this is a key goal of Dementia memory support.

Supports Better Sleep Patterns

Does your routine support you in getting enough sleep? A schedule will not only help you get better rest during the night, it will help you control how alert and emotionally balanced you feel in the daytime.

By creating a structured afternoon and evening routine, you can decrease fatigue and sleep deprivation that contribute to sundowning. Ultimately, you will feel more peace at night when your routine supports a regular sleeping schedule.

A solid sleeping schedule will provide better mood and emotional balance, resulting in seniors being more active and present throughout their day-to-day life, as well as participating in activities that are meaningful to their lives during the day-to-day basis.

Supports Independence and Dignity

Routines offer a way to help people with Dementia maintain their sense of identity and self-worth. It gives both the caregiver and the individual with Dementia the ability to keep that person independent and perform the self-care tasks that they have been doing throughout their life.

A person living with Dementia experiences the loss of their identity and a sense of control over their life. Routine assists people living with Dementia to stay connected to their previous habits and the activities that are meaningful to them, even though they may no longer be able to recall those habits or activities.

Important Areas of Routine

There are certain routine activities that need to be carried out on a daily basis include!

Morning & Bedtime Routines

• Keeping consistent morning and bedtime routines helps decrease confusion and anxiety in individuals with Dementia.
• Wake up, meals and bedtime should occur at the same time each day.
• Use simple, familiar steps for grooming, dressing and personal assistance, and establishing calming bedtime habits to assist them in falling asleep and reducing restlessness.

Meals and Hydration

• Serve meals at the same time of the day to create an environment of predictability.
• Provide meals using familiar foods and table settings to decrease confusion.
• Encourage individuals to eat small amounts of food at regular intervals to increase appetite.
• Make water available on a regular basis to keep them from becoming dehydrated and to support overall memory loss care.

Medication Management

• Administer medications at the same time every day providing a consistent pattern.
• Employ a pill organizer or alarms to prevent missing or receiving duplicate doses.
• Store medications in the same location for easy identification.
• Work in partnership with physicians and supporting health care practitioners to assure quality memory-supportive care for seniors.

Activities and Socialization

• Schedule walks, light exercise, or other hobbies daily at a consistent time each day.
• Engage in basic activities with those who are living with Dementia including music, puzzles and more.
• Promote daily social interaction by arranging safe winter outings to alleviate feelings of isolation.
• Create a balance between active times and adequate rest to prevent overstimulation.

How to Build a Routine for Someone with Dementia?

• Focus on the person’s daily activities. 
• Build a simple, familiar and flexible routine for the person.
• Use visual cues, labels, calendars and gentle verbal cues.
• Modify your routines gradually as you see a decline in the person’s ability to process information.
• Try to involve the person in creating their own routine for the purpose of maintaining their dignity and independence.

Problems You May Face & Ways to Resolve Them When Caring For Someone With Dementia

There are many challenges in the every day tasks that can come with caring for someone with Dementia. By understanding the various challenges that caregivers face and how to properly address these, and by creating a structured routine that caregivers can follow, caregivers will experience less difficulties or barriers during their caregiving activities.

• To help break through resistance, caregivers should start out slowly by providing seniors with small components of the routine and then gradually increase these as the senior becomes more comfortable with the routine.
• Caregivers should utilize familiar and soothing language, as well as positive reinforcement rather than giving orders to help seniors to establish their routines.
• One should provide seniors with a sense of control and the ability to make their own choices.
• Caregivers should create routines for seniors that are based on their life experiences to help decrease any tendency to resist.
• The caregiver should adapt their structure to reflect the senior’s physical and cognitive limitations and to accommodate any frustration that may occur with a specific activity.
• Should provide appropriate support to allow seniors to have time to adjust and to learn.
• In cases where behavioral concerns or issues become problematic, caregivers are encouraged to seek consultation from the senior’s physician.

Final Thoughts

People living with Dementia rely on structured, daily routines to help them maintain their emotional, cognitive and physical well-being. Daily routines for seniors provide peace of mind and improved sleep, help to maintain independence for older adults, and make everyday living less stressful and more predictable.

By recognizing the significance of structure in the lives of individuals, and not as a way to limit freedom, caregivers will help build stronger relationships with their loved ones. Caregiving for those living with Dementia can be done compassionately while respecting dignity and identity. Hence, caregivers can make powerful changes in the elderly one’s life, one small step at a time. 

FAQs 

1. What are the everyday needs of people living with Dementia? 

To care for someone living with dementia, they require assistance with 24-hour home care services. Basically, it includes personal hygiene, meal preparation, taking medication, and providing emotional support. An established daily routine for someone living with Dementia provides consistency to lower anxiety levels. 

2. What do people living with Dementia need most? 

The most needed things for a person with Dementia are consistency, reassurance, patience and compassionate care regarding their memory loss situation. Safe surroundings, familiar routines, and proper communication help them feel secure.

3. What is a routine for a Dementia patient?

A Dementia patient’s daily routine is made up of a combination of consistent daily activities and time frames. It includes times for rising, eating, doing activities, resting, and sleeping that support memory for older adults and emotional stability for seniors.

4. What is the best way to help someone with Dementia?

One of the best ways to provide support for someone with Dementia is by using clear communication, and maintaining consistent routines. Understanding how to communicate with a Dementia patient and providing gentle assistance will support the dignity and independence of the person.

5. How to keep Dementia patients busy?

To keep Dementia patients engaged, provide them with enjoyable but straightforward and relevant activities. It can be listening to music, assembling puzzles, performing light tasks at home, visiting museums or parks, and providing games that match their level of ability and interest.

6. What is the 90 second rule for Dementia patients?

The 90-second rule provides approximately 90 seconds for a person with Dementia to process new information and respond. The rule has been used to reduce anxiety and improve communication when providing care to someone who has Dementia.