Seniors with Alzheimer’s disease may find that they feel more agitated than they used to, even in normal situations. There are a few different reasons for this, and as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, agitation can become a much more prevalent concern. Alzheimer’s care services can help families and seniors with Alzheimer’s understand more about agitation and learn to manage it well.
Simplify Tasks and Routines
Frustration can quickly lead to agitation for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease. Often this happens because seniors experience cognitive changes that make familiar situations, tasks, and routines suddenly much more overwhelming. It can help a lot to break down tasks and routines in to much simpler steps. Using clear instructions and offering gentle reminders can also reduce frustration and agitation. Alzheimer’s care providers can help to break down complicated routines.
Reduce Possible Triggers
Every senior with Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t get agitated by exactly the same things. Everyone has individual potential triggers that cause them to experience agitation more quickly. It helps if family members and seniors try to identify as many possible triggers as they can, so they can avoid them more easily. Some possibilities include loud noises, crowded spaces, unfamiliar environments, and unexpected activities.
Build in Opportunities for Movement
Sometimes agitation comes not from frustration, but from feeling restless. Building movement into daily routines gives seniors a way to burn off restless energy in a way that is productive and enjoyable. Home care providers can help seniors to go through a routine of gentle exercises, like walks, chair exercises, or even just stretching. As seniors move more, they might also sleep better, further helping to reduce agitation.
Create a Calm Environment
A calm, peaceful environment goes a long way toward helping everyone to feel less agitation, but it’s especially helpful for Alzheimer’s patients. Keeping clutter to a minimum, reducing noises, and keeping routines consistent helps so much. Alzheimer’s care providers can help families learn what keeps the environment calmer and what is more likely to be overstimulating for seniors with Alzheimer’s.
Offer Reassurance and Validation
Life can feel confusing and uncertain for seniors who have Alzheimer’s disease. So much of their daily lives changes, sometimes more quickly than they can process. It’s important for them to feel understood and supported. Gentle touch, comforting words, and an upbeat but calm tone of voice all help to make communication go more smoothly. Reassuring seniors that all is well helps. But when seniors have a reason to feel frustrated and agitated, validating those feelings can be helpful, too. It makes sense to be frustrated by life being more difficult. Getting that validation can help seniors to let go of those feelings of frustration more easily.
Alzheimer’s care providers have so much experience helping aging adults with Alzheimer’s deal with their changing situations. Agitation may be common, but that doesn’t mean that seniors with Alzheimer’s disease have to just accept it and not do anything to change the situation. Understanding the causes is a great start because it helps everyone involved to know what to watch out for and how to help.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Alzheimer’s care in Oak Brook, IL, please contact the caring staff at Suburban Home Care today at (630) 964-9000.
There are several great reasons why Suburban Home Care® should be your choice for quality homecare. All of our Certified Nursing Assistants and Home Health Aides are screened, trained, bonded and insured.
Every family needs to be aware that almost every Homeowner’s insurance policy specifically excludes anyone working within your home. If the person you hire becomes injured while working for you, you will become personally responsible for all of their medical bills. This has left several families very vulnerable when their caregiver injured themselves at their home.
The potential to lose everything you have worked so hard to achieve seems an unnecessary risk. Every one of Suburban Home Care®’s employees are completely covered by insurance so you and your loved ones can relax knowing that if something unforeseen happens to your caregiver, they are completely covered by insurance.
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