According to MIT, recent research shows that daily sensory activities using flashing lights and rhythmic sounds at 40 times per second may help slow brain changes in people with early Alzheimer’s disease. These activities helped keep the brain healthier and better connected. This suggests that using the senses alone, like seeing, hearing, and touching, can support memory care without medication.
This kind of discovery is changing how memory care is delivered to older adults in Biloxi. More memory care centers now include sensory experiences such as soft music, calming lights, and items with different textures. These tools help people with dementia feel calmer, stay more focused, and enjoy a better daily routine.
Enhancing Memory Through Sensory Experiences
Sensory experiences that engage the five senses can be effective memory care activities because these forms of sensory enrichment can help navigate damaged memory circuits, potentially triggering emotional responses, memories, and reactions that couldn’t be triggered through verbal communication alone.
For example, think of how hearing a melody from your favorite song brings you back to a specific moment in time. You’ve also likely had the same experience when tasting a specific food or smelling a nostalgic scent. Certain sensory experiences are so powerful that they can transport people even in the late stages of Alzheimer’s into the past.
Parent-type memory care communities utilizing the SHINE® care approach use multi-sensory support strategies as a non-pharmacological option for helping memory care residents. These methods can enhance mood, improve focus, and strengthen social connections among residents. There is plenty of research and evidence backing this approach.
For example, research in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience from Patrick Muller shows that sensory enrichment improves the neuroplasticity of senior parents, even those in stages of cognitive decline. This means that while they can’t ever regain their old capabilities completely, they can improve their cognitive strength.
As discussed, listening to familiar music is a great way to trigger memories and reduce agitation while boosting emotional well-being. Seniors in memory care are prone to getting agitated, particularly when transitioning between activities, making occasions such as downtime challenging.
By using the same soothing melody at the same time every day, confusion for Alzheimer’s patients is reduced, helping them transition into new environments without stress or friction. Additionally, pleasant sensory experiences can make dementia-friendly environments more comfortable for everyday living
What are the 5 Senses Experiences
There are 5 main senses, and each of these can invoke powerful memories in people, even those in the later stages of cognitive decline. Here’s how each of them works:
- Sight: Things like color-coded signs, natural lighting help residents find their way, and help keep them calm.
- Sound: Familiar music can soothe or stimulate, depending on context.
- Touch: Certain tactile sensations can provide comfort and grounding for those with dementia or Alzheimer’s
- Smell: Aromatherapy can both improve mood and enhance memory in memory care residents.
- Taste: Familiar meals bring forth memories and encourage engagement with nutrition.
The best memory care practices involve engaging all of these senses to maximize the impact of sensory engagement.
How Are Sensory Experiences Delivered in Memory Care?
Sensory experiences in memory can have a couple of different fundamental approaches. One approach involves building the sensory experiences into the environment itself.
It’s a passive process, but it’s also possible for senior communities to take a more active role in delivering sensory experiences.
Environmental Design vs. Interactive Activities
Environmental design is things like using clear colors in the hallways to clearly designate the direction you’re heading in by differentiating space via clear primary colors. It makes it much easier for those feeling lost and disoriented to find their way. Environmental design also involves blocking out sound, for example. Communities may install powerful windows that isolate the sound and prevent the noise of traffic from getting into bedrooms or common areas. These sensory experiences are always working in the background because they’re built into the design of the community itself.
On the other hand, these communities will also take the opportunity to have interactive activities that engage all five senses. Think of things like music sessions in which residents can get together and bond over familiar classics, or art therapy projects where seniors can start putting their feelings on the canvas.
These are planned guided experiences that happen on a specific day. Residents are invited to get involved and are supported in doing so.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Relationship Between Sensation and Memory?
Sensory input via one of the five senses is how the brain receives information, and this information is the raw material of memory. Memories that have come through multiple senses at once tend to create stronger and more lasting memories.
This process is known as multisensory encoding. Dementia care tries to take advantage of this process by engaging all of the senses through activities and environmental design.
Which is the Strongest Sense Linked to Memory?
According to Harvard University, smell is often considered the most powerful sense for invoking memory. This is because your sense of smell connects directly to the brain’s limbic system. Science consistently demonstrates that familiar scents can bring back memories, even in those suffering from late-stage dementia.
Because smell is highly effective at triggering memories, care communities use things like essential oils to help seniors reconnect with their memories. There’s nothing that connects you to the past quite like a familiar smell. It’s just one of the many ways senior living communities use sensory enrichment as an effective wellness strategy.
See Our Multi-Sensory Support in Action
Sensory experiences support memory care by improving focus, reducing agitation, and stimulating cognitive activity. Backed by research, these experiences, delivered through design features or interactive activities, help seniors with dementia reconnect to memories.
Tools like music, aromas, and tactile stimulation create calmer, more beneficial daily routines in care settings.
Here at SummerHouse Bay Cove, we use a proven SHINE® Memory Care approach to provide enriching, research-backed sensory experiences for memory care residents. Schedule a tour today to see firsthand how this effective memory care approach enhances quality of life and reduces agitation.
