3 Easy Ways to Aid Seniors’ Memory

Aid Seniors’ Memory: Sites, Scents and Sounds Help Bring Memories to Mind

Forgetfulness is a common complaint among older adults. We misplace keys, blank on an acquaintance’s name, or forgot phone numbers. And while memory loss is not an inevitable part of the aging process, it does happen frequently to a large number of seniors; especially those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, there are ways to help seniors with memory recollection.

“Caregivers become the memory for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease,” says Glenn E. Smith, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at the Mayo Clinic, in an article on the clinic’s website. “By gathering memories, you can bring important events and experiences from your loved one’s past into the present. You’re the link to his or her life history.”

Memories are often roused by old movies and music, stories, and photos—or even the simple act of a family get-together, but they’re also activated by one’s senses. The following are three ways to activate the senses to improve memory.

 

1. Smells evoke memories
Among the five senses, smell has the strongest and most direct connection to memory. With the ability to conjure quite distant—yet strikingly vivid—memories, smell can be a powerful memory stimulant for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.

A study conducted by Stockholm University revealed that smells have the tendency to take someone further back in time than verbal or visual memory cues. When introduced to a smell memory cue, participants in the study, whose average age was 75, most frequently recalled memories from early childhood (Center for Advanced Study newsletter April 2004).

You can help your senior loved one feel the strong emotions and warm memories associated with smells by popping a batch of cookies in the oven, going for a walk just after it rains, folding the laundry together, or coming up with activity ideas of your own that will generate aromas particularly significant to your loved one. Saw dust, a campfire, garlic bread, a fine red wine, perfume, pine, and soap are just a few ideas of scents that may unlock rich, emotional memories and bring comfort to a senior.

 

2. Music helps seniors reminisce
There are different kinds of memory, including explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory is a deliberate, conscious retrieval of the past, often posed by questions like: where was I that summer? Who was I travelling with? Implicit memory is more a reactive, unintentional form of memory. It’s the explicit memory systems that are damaged by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Implicit memory is emotional as well as durable and it includes memories associated with music.

Memories stimulated by music often come from particular times in our lives. Times when, perhaps, music provided “a soundtrack to our lives”. During the good times music was playing. Hearing a favourite old song can evoke fond memories and improve the mind.

You can help stimulate the memories of your senior loved one by playing music from the era in which they were young and carefree or simply songs you know they love. There’s also a company called Music & Memory that can help elders in care facilities suffering from a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges find renewed meaning and connection in their lives through the gift of personalized music.

 

3. Puzzles aid memory
The phrase “use it or lose it” can also be said with regard to memory. “Just like physical exercise, mental exercise is good for you,” says Mustafa Husain, MD, director of the geriatric psychiatry division at Duke University School of Medicine. The more exercise the brain gets, the better it is at processing information. Using sight and mental activity, memory exercises, including memory jogging puzzles and games, can help short- and long-term recall. That’s where help.

Crossword puzzles are one of the most effective memory exercises. Other puzzles are likewise beneficial. The American Health Assistance Foundation's (AHAF) Alzheimer’s Disease Research program recommends playing Sudoku to exercise the brain and help memory and cognitive functioning. Soduku is similar to a crossword puzzle, but numbers are used instead of words. Sudoku doesn’t require math skills or calculations. It’s a logic puzzle and can become habit-forming. Sudoku puzzles can be found in the newspaper, online or in many puzzle books.

 

Other ways to help seniors with memory recollection include:

• Displaying or keeping an electronic folder with photos from your loved one’s life, including photos of family members
• Writing down descriptions of important events in your loved one’s life
• Creating a scrapbook or special box with photos, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards, greeting cards, sketches, poetry and musical verses
• Making a video or audio recording of personal stories

 

If you’re a caregiver for a loved one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, there are a great number of senior living options and services available to help, including senior residences with Alzheimer’s specialty services.

 

Alternatives for Seniors is a print and online directory that specifically caters to the housing and personal care concerns of senior citizens and their families. Call our Senior Specialists at (888) WE-ASSIST (888-932-7747) or visit the Alternatives for Seniors website to begin searching for the perfect home for you or your loved ones. Also, be sure to join our Facebook community and follow us on Twitter.

 

BLOG Date: Thursday, March 5, 2015
Writer: Ryan Allen