5 Signs Your Elderly Loved One Needs a Dementia Clock

Posted on 17 October 2016

Dementia is a scary, yet sad reality for many seniors. Dementia is a name that describes a range of symptoms that is associated with memory loss and declining thinking abilities. These symptoms are severe enough to hinder one’s everyday activities and reduces their independence and quality of life.

There is no test used to diagnose dementia, but doctors can observe irregularities in the patient’s behavior and think skills. For someone to have dementia, he or she must regularly experience a noticeable decrease in the following core mental functioning:

• Memory
• Communication and language
• Ability to focus and pay attention
• Reasoning and judgment
• Visual perception
• Keeping track of belongings
• Planning and preparing meals
• Traveling outside their neighborhood

Seeing our loved ones going through dementia, Alzheimer’s or any kind of memory loss is difficult. With no cure yet, we know that their memory problems will only get worse. As much as it makes us sad to see our loved ones’ experience memory loss, the confusion and frustration memory loss has on our loved ones can cause great them to become anxious and irritable. The best solution to give both you and your aging loved one peace of mind is some sort of consistent schedule or routine. A routine not only puts you at ease, but it can also better the quality of life for your loved one and reduce some of the difficulty in their care.

The most common and effective schedule regulator is a clock. Senior with memory problems often wonder what time it is and can lose track of days, dates, and even time of day. Dementia clocks put them at ease by displaying such crucial, important information.

How can you tell if your loved one is in need of a dementia clock? Below are some of the common tell-tail signs a dementia clock will help:

• Forget about special family occasions
• Forget about doctor’s appointments, and outings
• Confuses day with night and vice versa
• Always asks what time it is
• Not knowing what day of the week it is

Dementia clocks come in a variety of styles with features that provide peace of mind for those with dementia and other memory loss issues. Setting some regularity in their schedules will also give them confidence and greater independence. Other benefits of dementia clocks include:

• Gives people with memory problems a structured, regular routine. This eases their anxiety and reduces their confusion.
• Greatly improves independence, confidence and efficiency of those with dementia and other memory loss issues.
• Provides those with memory loss a sense of being grounded by equipping them with the ability to answer their most common question: what time is it?
• Improves the safety of dementia patients by reducing the fear of missing doctor appointments, incorrect medication dosage and frequency and establishes a normal, regular sleep pattern.
• Boosts your loved one’s self-confidence which increases their willingness to do things on their own.
• Helps put your mind at ease knowing that your loved one can more easily orient themselves.