25 Comfort Activities for Dementia Care

The benefits of sensory activities in dementia care cannot be underestimated.
It can be as simple as taking your resident to the garden or using a diffuser with some lavender and geranium essential oils in the sitting room.

Comfort activities for dementia care are simple and fail-proof sensory activities that re-establish old roles or bring back happy memories from times gone by. Comfort activities can provide immense enjoyment and dramatically improve mood and well-being.

Place comfort activity props throughout the living areas of your facility so that they are visible and easily accessed.

Examples of Comfort Activities

Below are some examples of easy comfort activities for people living with dementia.:

1. Walk or wheelchair around the block
2. Sort socks
3. Read poems
4. Mould dough
5. Hold hands
6. Comb hair
7. Pat a cat
8. Touch a tactile table cloth
9. Put seeds in bird feeder
10. Hold dolls
11. Listen to wind chimes
12. Feel an activity pillow
13. Look at fabric books
14. Touch tactile aprons
15. Hold soft stuffed animals
16. Look at picture books
17. Listen to music (classic, sacred, brass)
18. Smell fresh herbs
19. Look at family albums
20. Listen to LPs in an old fashion turn-table
21. Apply hand lotion
22. Sing nursery rhymes
23. Cut pictures from magazines
24. Listen to sound, rain dementia specific games
25. Roll yarn

Instructions

Give your full attention to the person you are with; remember that 90% of communication is non-verbal;

• demonstrate,
• praise,
• smile,
• observe,
• and above all do not hurry.

Break down activities into simple, manageable steps.

Concentrate on the task at hand and avoid distractions;

• Find a quiet space where you are unlikely to be interrupted
• Make sure the are is uncluttered