Dementia Gateway: Keeping active and occupied

Movement and exercise

Dance can even be incorporated into daily living tasks – try doing a dance with a person while walking into the dining room or the toilet!

Explore the links below now to read more about this topic:

• 1. Introduction Open

  What are the two worst words in dementia care?

  Answer: 'Sit down!'

  Frequently people with dementia who are walking around are asked to sit down, yet when a person is moving they are often expressing a need that should be met rather than dismissed.

  You don't have to take part in a class or go to the gym to benefit from physical exercise. For some people with dementia, it is the little things in life that can make a difference, for example:

  • washing their own face with a flannel
  • walking rather than going in a wheelchair to the dining room
  • polishing shoes
  • putting clothes on the washing line.

  Whether you are supporting someone in their own home or in a care home, you can encourage movement through all aspects of daily living.

• 2. Getting out and about Open

  It is not unusual for people who have dementia in care settings to have less access to outside space, particularly as they become less mobile and more advanced in their illness. Yet going outside can stimulate the brain and improve the mood in a way that inside activities cannot.

  Access to fresh air doesn't have to involve long coach trips to the seaside. Posting a letter, feeding the birds or sitting by a window watching the sun setting can all bring light and pleasure to the day (see the 'Gardens and outdoor spaces' feature in the 'Environment' section).

• 3. Dancing our way to wellbeing Open

  Dance stimulates the brain and the body as well as tapping into the magic of music. It has lots of social elements as well as offering an opportunity for people to express themselves and most importantly to move.

  You don't have to be mobile on your feet to dance – there are a number of approaches where people can dance with their arms and feet while still seated.

  Dance can even be incorporated into daily living tasks – try doing a dance with a person while walking into the dining room or the toilet!

  Jabadao, a dance and movement organisation based in Leeds, offers inspiring training in this area with a range of colourful props such as parachutes, carnival sticks and so on to encourage fun and movement (see www.jabadao.org).

  Green Candle Dance Company is another organisation with a history of working with older people and people with dementia (see www.greencandledance.com).

  Circle dancing offers simple and repetitive dance movements in a supportive circle combined with great rhythmic music from all parts of the world, where the emphasis is on being together and enjoying ourselves rather than getting all the steps right! It is also a helpful approach for responding to the cultural diversity of service users and staff and enjoying stories and connections that can be shared.

  For more information about one training provider's services, see: www.circledanceindementia.com.

• 4. Organised exercise sessions Open

  A physiotherapist or a suitably trained fitness professional can help to devise exercise programmes for an individual or run regular group exercise programmes.

  Seated exercise sessions can sometimes be run by care staff if they have been given training particularly in relation to any health contra-indications to be aware of.

  There are a number of organisations offering training in this area including:

  Vitalyz chair based exercise training.  http://www.vitalyz.co.uk/ Extend. www.extend.org.uk Medau Movement. www.medau.org.uk

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What are these? DEJI