Dementia & Mental Health

Dementia profoundly affects mental health , causing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, agitation, delusions, and hallucinations as brain damage progresses.These psychological and behavioral changes, known as Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), often stem from the difficulty individuals have communicating unmet needs or making sense of their environment.

Managing dementia involves addressing underlying medical issues, providing appropriate medication for psychiatric symptoms, implementing lifestyle changes like exercise and healthy eating, and offering strong social support to both the person with dementia and their caregivers.

Lifestyle Treatment of Dementia

Lifestyle changes cannot currently cure dementia, but they can support brain health, maintain function, improve quality of life, and potentially slow cognitive decline in some people. They work best alongside appropriate medical evaluation and treatment.

Key lifestyle approaches

• Regular physical activity: Aim for about 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, such as brisk walking, swimming, or cycling, if medically appropriate. Strength and balance exercises are also useful.

• Healthy diet: A Mediterranean- or MIND-style eating pattern emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, and unsaturated fats while limiting highly processed foods, excess sugar, and saturated fats.

• Good sleep: Maintain a regular sleep schedule and address conditions such as sleep apnea or persistent insomnia, which can worsen cognition.

• Social engagement: Regular interaction with family, friends, community groups, or meaningful activities can help maintain function and well-being.

• Cognitive activity: Reading, music, puzzles, learning skills, hobbies, and other mentally stimulating activities can be incorporated into daily life. Activities should be enjoyable rather than stressful.

• Manage cardiovascular risk factors: Control blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and obesity, and avoid smoking. These factors are particularly important because vascular disease can contribute to cognitive impairment.

• Limit alcohol: Excessive alcohol can worsen cognition and increase other health risks.

• Maintain routines and independence: Consistent daily schedules, appropriate exercise, meaningful tasks, and adaptations to the home can help people remain independent and reduce confusion.

• Hearing and vision: Correcting hearing or vision problems can improve communication, engagement, and day-to-day functioning.

• Prevent falls and injuries: Exercise, medication review, adequate lighting, and removal of household hazards are particularly important as dementia progresses.

• Limit foods with high sodium and use less salt. Most people in Canada  consume too much sodium, which affects blood pressure. As an alternative, use spices or herbs to season food.

As the disease progresses, loss of appetite and weight loss may become concerns. In such cases, the doctor may suggest supplements between meals to add calories.

• Cut down on refined sugars. Often found in processed foods, refined sugars contain calories but lack vitamins, minerals and fiber. You can tame a sweet tooth with healthier options like fruit or juice-sweetened baked goods. But note that in the later-stages of Alzheimer’s, if appetite loss is a problem, adding sugar to foods may encourage eating.