If your elderly parent is residing in a memory care community due to their cognitive state, then you are already aware of how busy the environment can get. Visitors, team members, and locals frequently keep it bustling and that additional stimulation may cause residents to become more anxious and exhibit undesirable behavior.
Hidden Meadows On The Ridge is one of the memory care communities near Ambler, PA, that offers a calm and cozy environment for residents. Continue reading to learn why providing a warm and relaxing atmosphere for your elderly parent who has memory problems is so important.
What Can Cause Too Much Stimulation
Every aspect of senior living is often busy, every one who has been to a retirement community knows that. However, memory care communities are particularly busy, which occasionally causes residents, visitors, and even team members to feel uneasy. Factors that lead to overstimulation in a memory care community include:
- Loud conversations from visitors in the common areas
- Carts being pushed through the halls
- Harsh lighting
- Alarms from locked doors around the community
- Activities going on in common areas
- Smells and scents coming from the dining area, break room, or residents’ rooms
- … and many others
Because there are so many cognitive components vying for attention, overstimulation occurs often in memory care communities. If that’s enough to have you a little agitated out or too thrilled, picture how individuals who have cognitive problems experience it.
Why a Calm Environment Matters
Your focus and attitude are influenced by your surroundings. You are more likely to focus and get things done in a quiet library than in a noisy coffee shop. Similarly, your mood can easily change for a good while dancing or playing with your friends than when you sit alone in one corner. Even though every person has their own taste and distinct nature, your surroundings still matter a lot and contribute to how you react to things.
Elderly adults with dementia or other cognitive impairments have more trouble processing information when they are in an overly active, too noisy, or overly chaotic setting. Dementia patients who are overstimulated may show some of the following symptoms:
- Wringing of hands, hitting themselves, and other signs of anxiety
- Aggressiveness towards other residents or team members
- Reduced appetite
- Risky behaviors
- Crying
- Excessive wandering
- Repetitive questions and complaints
- …and many others
How to Create a Calm Environment
Even while you can’t always stop certain behaviors or worry, you can take measures to change the atmosphere and make it a more tranquil and secure one for your loved one. After all, all behaviors—including nervous behaviors—are forms of communication. Below are ways in which you can create a calm environment for your loved one:
- Play music, including natural sounds like birds and water, classical piano, or other instrumental music. Avoid loud and energizing music.
- Use diffusers to spread calming scents of lavender or chamomile in their surroundings.
- Utilize hand massages or other sensory experiences
Hidden Meadows On The Ridge Provides Calm Environment for Your Loved Ones
Our retirement community provides outstanding senior living options including SHINE® Memory Care program. Our memory care community is designed to meet each resident’s personal needs and beyond. We plan out a series of activities and events for residents to engage in for proper stimulation to boost their cognitive function. Our senior living programs also include Sensations dining, Convenience transportation, Expressions concierge, and many others. To learn more about our community, reach out to us at 267.329.3082.
