Caring Touch as a Way to Communicate

A crying baby elicits a predictable response from its parents or grandparents. An adult swoops in, lifts the baby in their arms, and snuggles, cradles, maybe even rocks the baby as the cries diminish, their breathing settles, the baby calms. As babies become children and even young adults, soothing and reassurance comes by way of hugs, pats on the back, a quick shoulder rub, or a hand laid on a forearm. These seemingly simple touches have enormous effects because they are hard-wired in human development. It should not be surprising then, that physical contact is a vital tool for those caring for loved ones with Dementia.

No matter one’s age, human touch enhances communication by expressing emotion and offering reassurance. In a scientific study, a “sender” was asked to convey a range of emotions - happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger, fear, etc. – by touching the “receiver’s” forearm from behind a curtain. Receivers were able to accurately identify the emotion 48 - 83% of the time(1). No words spoken, no facial expressions visible – only variations in touch!

As a caregiver, the suggestion “Let’s get ready to go” may be easier to accomplish if accompanied by a warm hand on a shoulder. A gentle touch by a caregiver can improve compliance with requests, and offer reassurance when fear or concern is detected. Human touch increases the feeling of wellbeing by decreasing cortisol levels (the "stress“ hormone) and increasing oxytocin levels (the “love” hormone). If our goal is to care, comfort, and protect our loved ones with Dementia, the power of simple touch cannot be ignored.

From simple to professional, therapeutic massage intensifies the benefits of simple touch and introduces several more. Regular therapeutic massage lessens physical pain, decreases the physical symptoms of stress, reduces depression symptoms, improves immune function, and enhances attentiveness1. Because of these benefits, therapeutic massage should be on the menu of options for a loved one living with Dementia.

Lastly, we must not overlook the value of social interaction and connectedness delivered by a caring human touch. Humans are, after all, social animals. No matter the advances in technology, it is clear that when human touch is withheld, a void remains that cannot easily be filled with spoken words or digital screens.  

Note 1: Field, Tiffany. 2011. Developmental Review. (30) 2010 367-383. Touch for socioemotional and physical wellbeing: A review.    Accessed May 29, 2020, from https://www.radboudcentrumvoormindfulness.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/artikel-4.pdf

Contributor:  Karen Ogden, DSA Team Member

The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org

Make Your Bed

On the surface, the idea of making your bed might seem mundane. However, there are significant benefits to making your bed each morning. Many successful organizations, including the military and Psychology Today, have looked at the benefits that making your bed has for the brain.

It’s something that a lot of people often leave behind. You wake up, the room is dark, you take a quick shower, and go about your day. Then you come home at night and you see a big pile of blankets and sheets right in the middle of the bed and you accept that it still needs to be made. Sometimes it can even be a little bit stressful to not have your bed made when all you want to do is go to sleep.

There is mounting evidence to support the fact that making the bed in the morning contributes towards making a person happier and more successful. A recent online survey of 68,000 people, which is a fairly substantial base of people, found that 59% of people don’t make their beds and 27% do. The remaining 12% were people that have someone else, like a housekeeper, make their bed for them.

They also found that 71% of the bed makers consider themselves to be generally happy with their lives. 62% of non-bed makers admitted to being generally unhappy. Of course these results can vary by the life circumstances of the individual. It can extend to their job satisfaction, owning a home, exercising regularly, proper diet, feeling well rested. These things are all associated with people that fix their beds every day.

There is basis behind fixing your bed each morning. What happens is you wake up and right away you’re training your brain to do a task and attend to an activity that makes you feel good. As a result, you start your day with a sense of accomplishment. This sets the tone for the rest of your day and carries over to completing other tasks. It is the start of the snow ball effect that encourages you to keep a proactive attitude throughout the rest of your day.

When you stop and think about it, it only takes a couple of minutes in the morning to stop and make your bed. Start developing the habit, stick with it, and see what happens. I guarantee, it will help to start your day off on the right foot, because it’s the little things that make a difference.

Contributor Author: Dr. Michael Trayford is a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and Founder of APEX Brain Centers in Asheville, NC. For more information, please visit www.ApexBrainCenters.com/memory.

The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of content contained within blog posts- that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice, please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org