Healthy bodies aid minds
MORE than 342,000 Australians are living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
To learn how to properly care for people affected by the illness, it is important to understand what it’s like to live with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
Dr Helen Macpherson, from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, is an expert in the field of dementia research.
She said “dementia is an umbrella term for diseases like Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia and that the difficulties of dementia depend on the specific stage a person is in, ranging from mild/prediagnosis to severe”.
The beginnings of a cognitive brain impairment are mild memory loss, such as forgetting the names of people and places. In early stages, this can be compensated for by writing down prompts to assist certain activities.
Unfortunately, some compensate in a negative sense by “withdrawing from certain social functions”, with the fear that people may notice significant changes to their cognitive function.
Dr Macpherson said that, as the disease progresses, different everyday difficulties will arise, like grocery shopping, managing finances, working, cooking and a loss of awareness with personal hygiene.
This is the stage where sufferers really need to “rely on the help of personal carers or family members to assist them”.
In later stages, more severe deficits may arise. This is when higher level care and support might be needed, such as residential aged care.
Dr Macpherson said it was important to remember that people with any form of dementia were “not trying to be difficult”, and that being patient and kind was essential.
There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, research suggests a link between heart health and dementia.
Dr Macpherson strongly suggested that “exercise is the magic medicine. It can improve blood flow to the brain, and it helps with a person’s mood by releasing endorphins”.
In the early stages of preclinical dementia, taking part in aerobic exercises like walking, weight training and resistance exercises can slow the deterioration of physical ability. As dementia progresses, the exercises undertaken have to be appropriate to the person’s level of function.
“Keeping the person busy mentally is going to assist in creating a better quality of life. Keeping a person with dementia in bed consistently or having them sit all the time will make things rapidly worse,” she said.
Carers need to remember to also take a break for their own physical and mental health. Dementia Australia runs many education sessions for family members and carers.
Dr Macpherson said it was important to seek help if you were in this position. She encouraged carers to regularly exercise and maintain a healthy diet and use the expertise of their GP to connect with the types of services that may assist them.
The most important thing to remember is that a person suffering from dementia may not realise they have the disease. Taking time to understand each other is what makes the patient-carer relationship a whole lot easier.