trucomfort
Very often, elderly people end up sitting in a living room or lying down in bed permanently with little or no stimulation.
As they age, people lose the capacity to move freely. It is common that they end up bedridden or on a wheelchair, dependant on a pressure mattress or on your help to move, and with very few activities that fuel their minds.
Here we offer you 5 ideas to stimulate your loved one’s mind while he or she ages, so that they can enjoy a better quality of life even if they have to remain in bed permanently:
1. An elder person’s room has to have decoration that stimulates the mind. People who have to stay in bed for long periods of time end up depressed and looking at the ceiling if they are not offered opportunities to activate their minds.
Hang up beautiful and colorful posters with images that interest the person, and even attach them to the ceiling, but make sure they are well fixed to avoid accidents.
If the person has traveled a lot, choose images to remind him or her of past trips. If they like animals, hang up animal pictures. If they like movies, find old movie posters and make their room look like a cinema, or you may enlarge their favorite family and youth photos and hang them around the room to prompt your loved one to tell stories about his or her life.
Rotate the posters every once in a while to stimulate the mind even more and to make the room look different.
2. Put some shelves around the room within your loved one’s line of sight and place interesting items on them. You can put photos, cards, and colorful objects.
Move or replace the items regularly to create interest, and find out if your loved one notices.
3. Put a basket near the bed or chair, in a place that is easily reachable, so that your bedridden loved one is able to grab the items in it without help.
You can put inside small photo albums, magazines, books, or puzzles.
4. Anything that is used in the room can help stimulate your loved one’s mind and prompt conversations.
Fill the room with flowers and plants so that your loved one is in contact with nature. They can even do some gardening from their bed.
Play soft music constantly; classical music is great, and let them talk about the composer and the piece they are listening to. Very often, music brings back fond memories.
5. Bedridden people must be in contact with others; they must talk about memories, family times, or about a specific object or poster in their bedroom. Invite people they love to visit as often as possible to prompt interesting and happy conversations.
When interesting objects and lots of color are placed within a bedridden person’s eye level, you are giving him or her the gift of mind stimulation in addition to making their living space look beautiful, cozy, bright, and happy.
Rachel Clarkson
Rachel Clarkson is a bed sores specialist and a big fan and promoter of “The Volkner Turning Mattress”: http://www.Volkner.com
As they age, people lose the capacity to move freely. It is common that they end up bedridden or on a wheelchair, dependant on a pressure mattress or on your help to move, and with very few activities that fuel their minds.
Here we offer you 5 ideas to stimulate your loved one’s mind while he or she ages, so that they can enjoy a better quality of life even if they have to remain in bed permanently:
1. An elder person’s room has to have decoration that stimulates the mind. People who have to stay in bed for long periods of time end up depressed and looking at the ceiling if they are not offered opportunities to activate their minds.
Hang up beautiful and colorful posters with images that interest the person, and even attach them to the ceiling, but make sure they are well fixed to avoid accidents.
If the person has traveled a lot, choose images to remind him or her of past trips. If they like animals, hang up animal pictures. If they like movies, find old movie posters and make their room look like a cinema, or you may enlarge their favorite family and youth photos and hang them around the room to prompt your loved one to tell stories about his or her life.
Rotate the posters every once in a while to stimulate the mind even more and to make the room look different.
2. Put some shelves around the room within your loved one’s line of sight and place interesting items on them. You can put photos, cards, and colorful objects.
Move or replace the items regularly to create interest, and find out if your loved one notices.
3. Put a basket near the bed or chair, in a place that is easily reachable, so that your bedridden loved one is able to grab the items in it without help.
You can put inside small photo albums, magazines, books, or puzzles.
4. Anything that is used in the room can help stimulate your loved one’s mind and prompt conversations.
Fill the room with flowers and plants so that your loved one is in contact with nature. They can even do some gardening from their bed.
Play soft music constantly; classical music is great, and let them talk about the composer and the piece they are listening to. Very often, music brings back fond memories.
5. Bedridden people must be in contact with others; they must talk about memories, family times, or about a specific object or poster in their bedroom. Invite people they love to visit as often as possible to prompt interesting and happy conversations.
When interesting objects and lots of color are placed within a bedridden person’s eye level, you are giving him or her the gift of mind stimulation in addition to making their living space look beautiful, cozy, bright, and happy.
Rachel Clarkson
Rachel Clarkson is a bed sores specialist and a big fan and promoter of “The Volkner Turning Mattress”: http://www.Volkner.com