Horticultural Therapy For Older People With Dementia

As we get older, our physical needs are likely to change and we become more susceptible to certain health conditions, including the likes of high blood pressure/cholesterol, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and so on.

However, cognitive changes are also a serious possibility, with short-term memory affected as we age, alongside our reaction times and problem-solving skills. Cognitive decline is something that we all need to be increasingly aware of, given research showing that dementia has been the leading cause of death in Britain for the last ten years.

Figures from the Alzheimer’s Society show that there are more than 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK today, with millions more people taking care of their loved ones.

While the condition can affect us in terms of memory loss, language and communication, concentration, confusion and mood changes, it can also affect us physically, making us more prone to slips, trips and falls.

As we get older, the function of the systems we have in place that regulate our balance and gait control start to deteriorate, meaning we have greater difficulty in maintaining balance and we find it harder to regain it if and when we do lose it. Gait also starts to slow down and become more unsteady – all of which can be exacerbated by dementia.

However, there are ways in which this can potentially be mitigated, with a new study from Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, investigating the benefits of horticultural therapy and how it can affect the balance and walking speed of older people with dementia.

It was found that after hour-long gardening sessions that involved weeding, preparing flower beds, trimming, harvesting and so on twice a week for 12 weeks, the study participants maintained their baseline performance on static balance. 

Meanwhile, the control group who did no gardening saw a decline. The gardeners also saw improvements to gait speed, while the control group saw no difference.

This could certainly prove to be excellent food for thought for anyone concerned about cognitive decline and who wants to stay living independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Being able to maintain your balance is key for preventing accidents at home, particularly in hazardous places like the kitchen and bathroom. 

Of course, it will likely be necessary to carry out home adaptations to ensure that you can navigate your way through your living spaces safely, but keeping yourself as physically strong and capable as you can is essential, with regular physical activity a must.

While you may not be able to go to the gym or exercise as hard as you used to when you were younger, you can always change your routine up with slower, more gentle activities… such as gardening. 

The added benefit of this is that you’ll be spending more time in nature as a result, which is excellent for your mental health and wellbeing… so it’s a very real win-win!