COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

By Christina Uppenkamp - Home Instead

Welcome to the latest edition of Senior Snippets: the monthly advisory column with the older members of our community in mind, brought to you by Christina Uppenkamp, Director of Home Instead Dartford.

In this edition, we will be sharing some tips and ideas about how to communicate with people living with dementia.

When we think about communicating, our first instinct is to speak, but there are times when communication consists of much more than just a verbal conversation. When communicating with someone with dementia, there are many things to consider, and remember that talking isn’t always the most effective method.

Here are some ideas to help with communication:

- Acknowledge what the person has said. Even if they don’t answer your question, express that you’ve heard them and encourage them to say more about their answer.

- Use gestures, movement, and facial expressions. Physical signs and body language can all convey meaning and help get messages across, especially when speaking becomes more difficult.

- Use Humour. Laughing can help to bring you closer together and may relieve the pressure.

- Become an active listener. Listening is a very important aspect of engaging with someone with dementia. Look for non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and body language to try and understand what they are trying to tell you.

- Let the person express their feelings. If the person is feeling sad, don’t try and persuade them away from that feeling. Showing you care by just listening is sometimes the best method of communicating.

- Use physical contact to provide reassurance. Holding or patting the person’s hand or putting your arm around them might be all that is needed to let them know you are there for them.

- Use visual clues. Writing your messages down or using objects or pictures to help the person understand could help alleviate a breakdown in communication.

Communication difficulties can be frustrating and upsetting for people with dementia as well as their carers and loved ones. Active listening, non-verbal communication, visual props and laughter are just a few ways to help alleviate some of the tensions you may experience when engaging with those living with dementia.

If you would like to speak to someone at Home Instead, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We also welcome any suggestions for future topics from you all. All you have to do is write to me at c.uppenkamp@dartford.homeinstead.co.uk or by post to Home Instead Dartford, St Fidelis House, St Fidelis Road, Erith, DA8 1AT.

In this month’s article we look at new electric SUVs and a move to more 20mph speed limit roads.

By Dhiren Ganesh

2024 Range Rover Velar – Refreshed Range Rover Velar gets a bigger battery for plug-in hybrid variants and an upgraded infotainment system. The first major change is to the Velar’s infotainment system. This is now headed by a single 11.4in touchscreen through which climate, media, seat heating and navigation settings are all controlled, and it also looks after wireless smartphone mirroring via in-built Android Auto and Apple CarPlay software. The exterior changes include new 3D-effect LED rear lights, optional ‘Pixel LED’ headlights and a sleeker rear bumper. The change to the size of the battery in the P400e plug-in hybrid variant, has increased from 17.1kWh to 19.2kWh, enabling it to travel up to 40 miles on electric power alone, based on official figures. Available from the Spring of 2024 prices start from £54,045.

2023 BMW X5 – The X5 SUV gets an updated look both inside and out, plus a new infotainment system and revised engine options. Like the current engines it will offer the plug-in hybrid options and small electric motors on petrol & diesel options improve fuel economy. These engines will have more power starting from 294bhp up to 503bhp, which can travel officially up to 68 miles on electric-only power. Inside, the X5 gets the eighth generation of BMW’s iDrive infotainment system, which uses a 14.9in touchscreen that abuts a 12.3in digital driver’s display in a curved housing. On the outside, design updates are minimal, with a tweaked grille design, slimmer LED headlights, new LED tail lights and a revised front and rear bumper. Prices for the X5 will start from £66,230 and rise to £87,210 when available from April 2023.

20mph New Urban Road Limit Becoming Normal

- Local authorities and devolved governments are reducing the speed limit on large swathes of urban roads from 30mph to 20mph. Nearly half of London’s roads already have a 20mph limit, including all those inside the Congestion Charging zone and this is expanding further in London from March 2023. The rollout of 20mph zones is taking place alongside the introduction of low emission zones in many towns and cities around the UK in a bid to reduce urban pollution, after evidence the visual 20mph signs support slower speeds on these roads. It does however risk losing support from drivers and residents alike.

Colour Dash 2023

25th June Jeskyns Park, Gravesend DA12 3AN

9th July Swanley Park BR8 7PW

Fun For All The Family, walk, jog, toddle or run the 5K route! Fully inclusive and wheelchair accessible Wear white and finish the colour of a rainbow!

£15 Adult ~£12 Child 12-17yrs ~£6 Child under 11 yrs

£38 Family (2 AD & 2 CH)

All proceeds go towards supporting disabled children and their families www.wearebeams.org.uk or scan to enter

Jeskyns Park Swanley Park

by Bhavesh Ganesh

Formula 1’s governing body (FIA) appears to have backtracked on a rule introduced this year banning freedom of speech for drivers on key issues.

The rule outlawed “political, religious and personal statements” without prior consent, and expressed no limitations on where that restriction applied. However, a recently issued “guidance” note puts strict limits on its application.

It means drivers are free to say what they want everywhere except during pre and post-race events and on the track.

The guidance note states drivers “can express their views on any political, religious or personal matter before, during and after” the race “in their own space, and outside the scope of the international competition”.

A number of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lando Norris, had expressed their concerns about the rule since it emerged.

Do you think the FIA should be restricting drivers to express their opinions? If yes, the ramifications are enormous and application to other global sports. Drivers should take accountability for their actions and words… good or bad. Policing what they can or cannot do or say is doomed to fail, particularly in a global sport… history is clear on this.

Sporting events in March include:

6-19 TENNIS BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

11 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: England v France

14-17 RACING Cheltenham Festival

14-19 BADMINTON All-England Open (Birmingham)

18 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Ireland v England

18-19 FOOTBALL FA Cup quarter-finals

19 FORMULA ONE Saudi Arabia Grand Prix (Jeddah)

23 FOOTBALL Euro 2024 qualifiers: Italy v England,

26 FOOTBALL Euro 2024 qualifiers: England v Ukraine

By Maria Kingsford

Local people from ‘Dartford painted rocks’ on Facebook have been busy this month painting and hiding them around the town. The rocks can be exchanged at Stephen Oliver: Studio and Gallery located at the Orchards Shopping Centre .

Here are some of the photos of their latest painted rocks.

SLEEP: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Dr Julie Taylor

Having trouble sleeping is common. About a third of adults have insomnia, which is a persistent difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep. Many others also experience days when they toss and turn in bed following a stressful day. Sleep is often not given priority in our busy lives but it should be seen as important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle as exercise and diet.

Why do we sleep?

All animals sleep, despite the fact that it leaves them vulnerable to predators and takes time away from feeding and procreation, which suggests that sleep is fundamental to survival. Lack of sleep can have effects on every system of the body: the cardiovascular system, a weakened immune system, impaired thinking and memory and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Sleep is regulated by a complex system of chemicals, neurotransmitters and hormones. These are part of our circadian rhythm, a 24 hour cycle that governs sleep and wake. Light exposure is important to this, but other external factors can influence it such as stress, hunger, caffeine and alcohol use and exposure to blue light from electronic devices.

Within a minute of you falling asleep, your body temperatures drops, brain activity changes and your breathing and heart rate slows. However, there is a lot happening when we sleep. Our brain goes through 4 distinct stages when we sleep, including REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is when the most intense dreams take place. REM sleep is thought to be the most essential stage for the brain.

How much sleep do we really need?

The amount of sleep we need varies by age. For example, a new born will sleep for between 14 and 17 hours a day, whereas an adult ideally needs somewhere between 7 and 9 hours. This will vary from person to person, based on your activity levels and overall health. To assess your own need, ask:

• Are you productive, healthy and happy on the sleep that you get or do you need more? If you had no commitments, would you sleep more on these days?

• Do your daily activities require alertness to do them safely (for example driving, operating heavy machinery or other safety critical jobs)? Do you feel sleepy doing these tasks?

• Are you experiencing or do you have a history of sleeping problems?

• Do you depend on caffeine to get through the day? It’s not just the amount of sleep that matters, the quality of our sleep is important. Improving sleep hygiene not only helps you to get to sleep and sleep for longer, but it also improves how well you sleep and how restored you feel after.

Other factors affecting sleep

Sometimes medical problems can interfere with sleep. Your GP can help with problems such as leg cramps, restless legs, breathlessness when you lie down, snoring and sleep apnoea (where you stop breathing for a short time when you are sleeping).

Next month I will cover how you can improve the amount and quality of your sleep.