Sensory Experiences in Senior Living: How Dining Helps with Alzheimer's in Gallatin, TN
Ever return to a familiar location and feel all the memories coming flooding back? Your senses induce memories, but some sensory experiences are a stronger trigger than others. According to a study by Green et al., the combination of taste and smell can trigger the most vivid recollections.
Sensory dining for seniors can help with memory disorders like Alzheimer's. Familiar flavors and aromas trigger memories and remind seniors of happier times. Flavors and aromas are specifically developed to compensate for age-related loss of smell or taste.
Are you interested in learning more about how memory care dining works in Gallatin, TN? Read on to learn more about sensory dining and mealtime stimulation activities.
Barriers to Senior Nutrition
For seniors with Alzheimer's or dementia, there are serious barriers to getting the right nutrition. According to a study by Bian et al., these conditions mean that affected seniors get less than their recommended daily caloric intake. Let's look at the way these illnesses affect the dining experience in more detail.
Less Taste and Smell
Dementia and Alzheimer's often come with loss of sense of smell and taste. So, memory care dining often uses stronger-than-average flavors.
When everything tastes bland, eating is a boring experience. Without specialist memory care dishes, many seniors wouldn't stay put long enough to eat a meal.
Memory and Behavioral Issues
Someone with dementia won't always recognize food or utensils. They're also prone to wandering off in the middle of a meal or forgetting to chew and swallow properly.
People with Alzheimer's also have very short attention spans. Sitting through a whole meal can be quite difficult, especially if the dining environment is confusing or overwhelming to the senses.
That's why memory care communities tend to have dedicated sensory dining rooms to encourage seniors to stay seated and engaged.
Physical Barriers
Some seniors also have physical limitations that cause unique challenges at mealtimes. For example, seniors with Alzheimer's or dementia may:
- Have trouble physically eating due to tremors
- Have difficulty swallowing
- Experience dental issues that can cause all kinds of problems
These issues can make eating frustrating or even painful. Seniors facing painful barriers to eating should consult with a doctor or dentist to explore potential solutions.
Avoiding Weight Loss via Sensory Dining
A study by Wolf-Klein et al. found that the majority of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's lose weight within a year. So senior living communities need to use all the sensory dining techniques at their disposal to encourage memory care residents to get the nutrition they need.
Assisted Living Dining Programs: What to Expect for Sensory Experiences
Remembering things from the past is beneficial to people with Alzheimer's. Familiar memories spark up conversation and encourage cognitive activity. Given that nothing quite stimulates those happy recollections like smell and taste, memory care dining is all about providing nostalgic flavors.
This kind of dining isn't about doing surprise specials or experimental fusion dishes. It's about providing familiar sensory routines.
People with Alzheimer's can sometimes get anxious and agitated, particularly when they're moving between rooms. Sensory dining rooms use various tricks and techniques to create a predictable and soothing mealtime routine:
- Consistent setting: In sensory dining, there's no experimenting with fancy plates or cutlery; everything is the same, from the table setting to the background music.
- High contrast: The plates, cutlery, and tablecloth use deliberately contrasting colors to reduce confusion and to make food more visible.
- Reduced apathy: By creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere with predictable pleasant sensations, seniors will want to stick around long enough to meet nutrition goals.
It's all about creating a safe, welcoming setting for memory care residents, allowing them to eat nutritious meals in safety and comfort.
The Key Role of Sound in Alzheimer's Care in Gallatin, TN
The ambiance of the dining room is also important to consider. Memory care communities set tables with simple and safe decor and cutlery. Loud TVs or upbeat music in the background are not allowed during meals because they can be too overwhelming for someone with Alzheimer's.
Soft, familiar music is played to make the mood nice. A quiet, comfortable area that feels like home helps them stay engaged with eating.
Studies have shown that a home-like dining setting with fewer distractions improved calorie intake and quality of life in dementia patients. Senior living communities achieve this by serving meals in smaller family-style dining rooms when possible, with staff sitting and chatting as "family" at the table.
Senior living communities avoid sounds that might cause distress, but they do use positive sounds to create a sense of peace or familiarity. A soft dinner chime, for example, can help residents remember it's time for dinner when the internal clock might not do so.
In the context of themed meals, it may be beneficial to incorporate culturally relevant music. As an example, playing soft Italian opera during an "Italian night" dinner might create a fun atmosphere and bring back memories for Italian-Americans who used to enjoy that musical style.
Again, familiarity and nostalgia are useful tools; imagine a resident who always loved gospel hymns. Playing one of her favorite hymns during Sunday dinner can calm anxious behaviors that could distract from eating.
Discover Our Supportive Memory Care Community
By filling the room with inviting smells, putting out beautiful plates, intensifying flavors, changing textures, and making calming music, senior living communities get Alzheimer's residents interested in food again. The results from these sensory experiences are great: weight loss stabilizes or reverses itself, mealtimes become anticipated events, and seniors rediscover the simple pleasures of a good meal.
At The Capstone at Station Camp, we believe that thoughtful dining experiences can significantly improve the lives of seniors with Alzheimer's and dementia. Our Gallatin memory care program incorporates innovative sensory dining techniques and personalized care to ensure each resident has the best possible quality of life.
We're also proud to offer an exclusive discount for our military veterans.
The best way to understand our memory care engagement is to see it for yourself. Contact us to learn more about how The Capstone at Station Camp supports those with memory loss.