The best way to choose seating for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is to prioritize three things: fall prevention, pressure ulcer protection, and ease of transfers in and out of the chair. That means looking for specific clinical features like an angled seat that prevents sliding, tilt-in-space capability for pressure redistribution, and sturdy armrests that give the person something to grip when standing. A standard recliner or living room chair, no matter how comfortable it looks, lacks these features and can actively put someone with dementia at greater risk of injury. For example, a chair with a low, soft seat cushion might feel cozy, but it makes standing up far more difficult and increases the likelihood of a dangerous forward slide. This matters more than most families realize.
Older adults with dementia are eight times more likely to experience a fall than those without dementia, and falls remain the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries in adults over 65, costing the healthcare system up to $50 billion annually. Meanwhile, 67% of geriatric patients with pressure ulcers have dementia, and for those with advanced dementia, developing a pressure ulcer drops median survival from 863 days to just 96 days. The chair someone sits in for hours each day is not a minor decision. This article covers the specific features to look for in a dementia-appropriate chair, how design elements like color and shape affect someone with cognitive impairment, which accredited products exist on the market, and why working with an occupational therapist is not optional but essential. Whether you are outfitting a home, an assisted living facility, or a hospital room, the guidance here is grounded in clinical evidence and expert recommendations.
Table of Contents
- Why Does Seating Matter So Much for People with Alzheimer’s Disease?
- What Features Should You Look for in an Alzheimer’s Seating Solution?
- How Dementia-Friendly Design Principles Apply to Furniture Selection
- Comparing Accredited and Specialized Seating Products
- Why an Occupational Therapist Assessment Is Not Optional
- Adapting Seating as Alzheimer’s Progresses Through Stages
- The Growing Need for Better Dementia Seating Solutions
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does Seating Matter So Much for People with Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease does not just affect memory. As the condition progresses, it erodes postural control, spatial awareness, depth perception, and the ability to recognize and respond to discomfort. A person in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s may not realize they are sliding out of a chair until they are already on the floor. They may not shift their weight the way a cognitively healthy person instinctively does, which means prolonged pressure on the same tissue areas, leading to skin breakdown and ulcers. With 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s in 2025, the first time that number has exceeded 7 million, this is a problem at population scale. The consequences of poor seating are not abstract. Consider the difference between a person sitting in a standard wingback chair versus a clinically designed seating system with lateral supports and an angled seat. In the standard chair, the person may gradually slump to one side, compress soft tissue, and eventually slide forward enough to fall.
In one clinical study, patients who used a Seating Matters therapeutic chair in a hospital setting experienced a 100% decrease in falls and sliding. That is not a marginal improvement. It is the difference between daily fall incidents and none. The comparison also extends to emotional wellbeing. Someone who feels unstable in their chair becomes agitated and anxious. They may try to stand without assistance, or they may become fearful and withdrawn. Proper seating addresses the physical problem, but it also addresses the psychological one. Clinical studies confirm that frequent use of a specialized dementia chair improves balance and blood circulation, reduces muscle pain, and reduces anxiety and depression.
What Features Should You Look for in an Alzheimer’s Seating Solution?
The most important feature is an angled or raked seat, which slopes downward toward the back of the chair. This prevents the person from sliding forward and falling out, which is the single most common seating-related injury for people with poor postural control. If a chair does not have this feature, it is not appropriate for someone with moderate to advanced Alzheimer’s, regardless of how comfortable or attractive it appears. Beyond the seat angle, look for tilt-in-space capability. This mechanism allows the entire seat to tilt backward while maintaining the angle between the seat and the backrest, redistributing pressure across a larger body surface area. This is critical for preventing pressure ulcers. Lateral supports or wedges are also important because they prevent the person from leaning to one side and slumping, which is a common postural pattern in dementia.
Grip-able armrests provide leverage for safe transfers in and out of the chair, and compatibility with hoists, stand-aids, slings, and belts becomes increasingly important as the disease progresses and mobility declines further. However, there is a real tradeoff with seat height and firmness. Research shows that higher seat-to-floor height and firmer seat surfaces facilitate easier sit-to-stand transfers and reduce rise difficulty. But these same features may reduce perceived comfort. A person who finds their chair uncomfortable may resist sitting in it, which creates its own set of problems. This is where individualized assessment becomes essential rather than following a one-size-fits-all checklist. What works for one person’s body type, stage of disease, and daily routine may not work for another.
How Dementia-Friendly Design Principles Apply to Furniture Selection
Choosing the right seating for Alzheimer’s is not purely a mechanical or clinical exercise. The way a chair looks matters as much as how it functions, because dementia alters visual perception in ways that can turn ordinary furniture into a source of confusion or fear. people with dementia recognize brightly colored, high-contrast objects more easily than pastels or muted tones. A chair that blends into the floor or wall may be difficult for the person to identify as a chair at all, increasing the risk that they misjudge where to sit and fall. This is why experts recommend choosing traditional, recognizable furniture designs. A chair that looks like a chair, with a clearly defined seat, back, and arms, gives the person visual cues about what the object is and how to use it.
Modern or abstract designs, however stylish, can cause confusion. For the same reason, avoid glossy or satin finishes on seating surfaces. These finishes can appear wet to someone with dementia, causing hesitation, anxiety, or outright refusal to sit. Matte finishes in solid, contrasting colors are preferable. Rounded edges and padded upholstery are also recommended over sharp corners. Falls are a near-certainty at some point in the disease progression, and when they happen, the difference between striking a rounded padded edge and a hard square corner can mean the difference between a bruise and a laceration or fracture. This principle extends beyond the chair itself to nearby furniture, but the chair is the piece of furniture the person will interact with most frequently throughout the day.
Comparing Accredited and Specialized Seating Products
Not all chairs marketed for dementia care have undergone rigorous testing. Two products stand out because they have received Dementia Product Accreditation from the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling: the Seating Matters Atlanta 2 and the Sorrento 2. These are the only chairs in the world to hold this specific accreditation, which means they have been evaluated against criteria developed by dementia researchers and clinicians. That does not mean they are the only good options, but it does mean they carry a level of third-party validation that most competitors do not. Broda Comfort Tension Seating takes a different approach, using a saddle-style design that reduces sliding through the shape of the seat itself rather than relying solely on a raked angle.
Broda chairs also offer an optional Dynamic Rocking feature, a gentle, calming motion that helps reduce anxiety, which is a significant benefit for people in the agitated phases of Alzheimer’s. The tradeoff is that rocking chairs require more clearance space and may not be suitable for every room layout or care environment. The comparison between these approaches illustrates an important point: there is no single best chair. The Seating Matters products emphasize clinical postural management and are designed for people who spend extended periods seated. The Broda system emphasizes comfort and calming through motion. A person who is mostly immobile and at high risk of pressure ulcers may benefit more from the tilt-in-space capabilities of one system, while a person who is mobile but anxious and prone to restless behavior may benefit more from the rocking feature of another.
Why an Occupational Therapist Assessment Is Not Optional
It is tempting to research chairs online, read reviews, and order something that seems to check all the boxes. But seating for Alzheimer’s disease is not a consumer purchase in the usual sense. It is a clinical intervention, and it requires clinical assessment. Occupational therapists conduct thorough evaluations that may involve observing the patient for weeks to understand individual postural tendencies, transfer abilities, skin integrity, and personal preferences. They consider factors that no product review can capture, such as how the person’s body positions itself during different times of day, whether they lean consistently to one side, and how their mobility is likely to change over the coming months. This is especially important because Alzheimer’s is progressive.
A chair that works perfectly today may become inadequate or even dangerous six months from now as the person’s postural control, cognition, and mobility decline further. Regular reassessments are recommended so that chair settings and configurations can be adjusted as the condition advances. An OT can modify tilt angles, add or remove lateral supports, change seat cushions, and recommend when it is time to transition to a different seating system entirely. One limitation to acknowledge: access to occupational therapy varies significantly by region, insurance coverage, and care setting. In some areas, wait times for an OT assessment can be long, and not all OTs have specific training in dementia seating. If you are in this situation, ask the OT or their practice whether they have experience with neurodegenerative conditions specifically. A general musculoskeletal OT assessment is better than nothing, but it may miss dementia-specific considerations like the person’s inability to report discomfort or their tendency to attempt unsafe transfers.
Adapting Seating as Alzheimer’s Progresses Through Stages
In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, a person may need only minor modifications to their existing seating: a firmer cushion, a seat riser to increase height, or the addition of armrest grips. They are still mobile, still transferring independently, and their postural control is largely intact. The goal at this stage is to make safe transfers easier and reduce the risk of the first serious fall.
By the middle and later stages, the requirements change dramatically. The person may no longer be able to stand without assistance, may have lost the ability to shift their weight independently, and may spend the majority of their waking hours seated. At this point, compatibility with hoists and stand-aids becomes essential, tilt-in-space is needed for pressure management, and lateral supports prevent the progressive slumping that leads to spinal deformity and respiratory compromise. The chair effectively becomes a medical device, and treating it as anything less puts the person at serious risk.
The Growing Need for Better Dementia Seating Solutions
The scale of this challenge is only going to increase. The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s could reach 13.8 million by 2060, and similar growth trajectories are projected globally. That means millions more families, care homes, and hospitals will face exactly these seating decisions. The market for dementia-specific furniture is still relatively small and specialized, with only a handful of manufacturers producing chairs that meet clinical standards.
As demand grows, there is reason to hope that more options will become available and that costs, which can currently run into thousands of dollars for a single chair, will become more accessible. What is encouraging is the growing recognition that seating is not a peripheral concern in dementia care. It sits at the intersection of fall prevention, skin integrity, comfort, and psychological wellbeing. The research base is expanding, accreditation standards like those from the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre are raising the bar, and clinicians are increasingly treating seating assessment as a core component of dementia care rather than an afterthought.
Conclusion
Choosing seating for someone with Alzheimer’s disease requires attention to specific clinical features: an angled seat to prevent sliding, tilt-in-space for pressure redistribution, lateral supports for posture, grip-able armrests for transfers, and compatibility with mobility aids as the disease advances. Beyond mechanics, the chair should follow dementia-friendly design principles, using high-contrast colors, traditional shapes, matte finishes, and rounded edges. Products with formal dementia accreditation, like the Seating Matters Atlanta 2 and Sorrento 2, offer third-party validation, while options like Broda’s Dynamic Rocking system address the anxiety and agitation that often accompany the disease.
The single most important step is to involve an occupational therapist in the decision. No amount of online research replaces an individualized clinical assessment, and because Alzheimer’s is progressive, that assessment needs to be repeated as the person’s condition changes. Start the conversation with your loved one’s care team now, even if the person’s current seating seems adequate. The goal is to prevent the fall or the pressure ulcer before it happens, not to react after the damage is done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a regular recliner work for someone with Alzheimer’s?
In the earliest stages, a recliner with a firm seat and good armrests may be adequate with modifications like a seat riser. However, standard recliners lack angled seats, lateral supports, and tilt-in-space mechanisms. As the disease progresses, they become actively dangerous because they allow sliding, do not redistribute pressure, and make transfers difficult. A recliner also tends to position the person in a way that makes independent standing nearly impossible.
How much do specialized dementia chairs cost?
Prices vary widely depending on features and manufacturer, but clinical-grade dementia seating systems typically range from $1,500 to $5,000 or more. Some insurance plans and Medicare may cover part of the cost if the chair is prescribed as durable medical equipment by a physician, but coverage is not guaranteed. Ask your occupational therapist and insurance provider about documentation requirements before purchasing.
What color should a dementia chair be?
Choose a color that contrasts strongly with the surrounding floor and walls. People with dementia recognize brightly colored, high-contrast objects more easily than pastels or neutral tones. A dark blue or burgundy chair against a light floor, for example, is much easier to identify than a beige chair on a tan carpet. Avoid patterns, which can cause visual confusion, and avoid glossy finishes, which can appear wet and cause the person to hesitate or refuse to sit.
How often should seating be reassessed for someone with Alzheimer’s?
There is no fixed schedule, but reassessment should happen whenever there is a noticeable change in the person’s mobility, posture, skin condition, or behavior in the chair. As a general guideline, every three to six months is reasonable for someone in the middle stages of the disease. An occupational therapist can adjust tilt angles, add or remove supports, and recommend transitions to different seating systems as needed.
Does a rocking chair actually help with Alzheimer’s-related anxiety?
There is clinical evidence supporting the calming effects of gentle rocking motion for people with dementia. Broda’s Dynamic Rocking feature is specifically designed for this purpose. However, rocking chairs are not appropriate for everyone. Someone with severe postural instability or a tendency to attempt unsafe standing transfers could be put at greater risk by a rocking mechanism. This is another reason individualized OT assessment matters.
