The Konnekt Dementia Phone

Healthy diet

Having a healthy diet is a controllable risk factor for dementia. Health professionals recommend to cut sugary foods and refined carbs, limit processed foods, avoid transfats, increase omega-3 fats, enjoy fruit and vegetables, drink 2-4 cups of tea daily and keep alcohol to a minimum.

Why it works: Being overweight doubles Alzheimer’s risk. Correct diet can reduce inflammation, which injures neurons. It can also lower the risk of diabetes, which inhibits communication between brain cells. In addition, healthy fats may reduce beta-amyloid plaques.

Dementia can take away not only the ability to shop for ingredients and prepare healthy foods safely, but also self control. You may need to take an increasingly active role in your parent's diet.

If you can't visit often, Skype can be a great way to help you check what they're eating.

Blood pressure

High blood pressure is another controllable risk factor for dementia. Health professionals recommend to test every 1-2 years but more often if there are risk factors or if medication changes.

Why it works: High blood pressure can damage and narrow brain blood vessels, increasing the risk of a blocked or burst blood vessel, leading to cell death and affecting memory, thinking or language skills. This is called vascular dementia. High blood pressure is also associated with tangles of tau protein, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dementia patients tend to neglect their health, forget appointments and forget to take medications. Reducing blood pressure with medication is one of the easiest risk factors to control. As a caregiver, you can organize regular check-ups, talk directly to their doctor, and check that medication is being taken. Pharmacies can home-deliver pills in "blister packs", and smart medication dispensers can also help.

Skype can be used to help check that your parent is taking medication or using a home blood-pressure machine correctly and regularly.

Ultimately, a visiting or on-site nurse may be required to ensure compliance to blood-pressure medication.

Exercise

Getting regular exercise is another controllable risk factor. Health professionals recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week, combining cardio with strength training.

Why it works: Exercise stimulates the brain's ability to maintain old connections and to form new ones. Strength / balance training has the added benefit of reducing the risk of falls.

Dementia can take away the motivation to exercise. Dementia patients are likely to have fewer friends and visitors to involve them in physical activities, fewer hobbies and interests that require movement, and a greater risk of falling. As a caregiver, you can organize regular walks such as shopping trips. The local gym, seniors club, seniors day centre or aged care facility may run classes specifically for the elderly. Gardening should be encouraged as long as there is sufficient mobility.

For elderly parents who are mostly house-bound, some families use Skype to screen-share seniors exercise videos or to take turns at leading "Gran" through some simple home exercises. It's motivational and increases program compliance.

Talk to the GP for advice on the right level and forms of exercise, and for ideas on local social exercise activities for seniors.

Depression

Depression is another controllable risk factor for dementia. Unfortunately, depression symptoms are ignored often in the elderly. One survey showed that 50% of those in aged care have at least one symptom of depression.

Why it works: Depression episodes have a physical effect on the brain.

As a carer, it can be difficult to notice gradual changes in mood and personality. Manage an existing depression condition by taking your elderly parent to a mental health professional regularly, and ensure that prescribed medication is never missed.

Elderly social isolation and loneliness are linked to depression. However, recent OHSU studies¹ show that only face-to-face conversation -- specifically with family and friends, and at least 3 times a week -- can halve depression risk. The most recent study² showed the same benefits of regular contact via Skype! Video calling is an excellent way to increase face-to-face contact, especially for those who do not see family and friends daily.

Mental stimulation

Getting sufficient mental exercise is another controllable risk factor. It's important to experience plenty of activities that stimulate the brain and exercise the brain cells.

Why it works: Like exercise, mental stimulation improves cognitive function.

Activities involving multiple tasks or requiring communication and interaction offer the greatest protection. For this reason, social engagement is likely the best form of mental stimulation.

It's believed that we humans evolved our large and complex brains so that we could communicate better. Conversation allows hunters to collaborate effectively. It enables those gathering fruits and berries to communicate locations and paths. Those rearing children can better cooperate and warn others of approaching danger.

Face-to-face conversation involves many areas of the brain in order to process language (phonetics, syntax and semantics), facial movements, body language, emotions, shared memories and intent.

An OHSU study¹ shows that increasing social interaction via daily face-to-face video calls could be a promising intervention for improving cognitive function.

A dedicated video phone is a great way to increase face-to-face contact for your elderly parent with family and friends, without the need for additional travel.

Social engagement

Verbal communication with others exercises memory, linguistic skills, attention, executive function and abstract reasoning. Face-to-face communication significantly adds to this by exercising visual processing and pattern recognition, interpretation of facial movements and body language that convey meaning and emotion, and the coordinated use of gestures and movement which are linked to psychomotor skills.

Face-to-face conversation with family & friends is needed 3 times a week to make a measurable difference to depression risk.

Why it works: Aside from the obvious benefits of exercising more of the brain than solitary puzzles do, social engagement with family and friends can actually hit each and every one of the other recommendations above:

• We’re more likely to maintain a healthy diet and exercise habit, comply with medication, notice depression episodes, and follow doctor’s orders. We care how we look to our friends; they genuinely care about our health; and socializing often involves grooming, movement and other physical activity.
• We’re more likely to maintain a good sleep pattern. Keeping social appointments requires staying awake during the day and helps tire us for the night.

Research links social isolation or loneliness with poor sleep¹, dementia², depression³, heart disease⁴ and morbidity⁵.

In summary, face-to-face social engagement is vital for those at risk of dementia or suffering from dementia. It exercises key areas of the brain, and positively influences the other major risk factors.

What else can I do about dementia, as a carer?

Hopefully, our quiz gives you some new answers.