Why do people with dementia show reduced anxiety with touch and sensory therapy?
People with dementia often experience anxiety because their minds struggle to make sense of the world around them. This confusion can lead to feelings of fear, frustration, and agitation. One way to help reduce this anxiety is through touch and sensory therapy, which uses physical sensations and sensory experiences to calm the mind and body.
Touch and sensory therapies work by engaging parts of the brain that are less affected by dementia. For example, gentle touch or pressure from weighted blankets provides a comforting sensation called deep pressure stimulation. This kind of physical contact helps ground a person with dementia, making them feel safer and more secure when everything else feels confusing[1]. The calming effect comes from how these sensations activate the nervous system in a way that reduces stress hormones.
Sensory activities also include things like aromatherapy with familiar scents such as lavender or peppermint, tactile boards made from different textures like silk or felt, and sound therapy using nature sounds or white noise[1]. These activities stimulate senses connected to long-term memories—memories that often remain intact even when short-term memory fades. By triggering these positive associations, sensory therapy helps people reconnect emotionally with their past selves[5].
Moreover, these therapies require little verbal communication or complex instructions. This makes them especially effective for people whose language skills have declined but who still respond strongly to touch and sensory input[1]. The soothing nature of these experiences can reduce restlessness and repetitive behaviors caused by anxiety.
In summary:
– Touch provides comforting deep pressure that calms nerves.
– Sensory stimulation taps into long-lasting memories linked to smell, texture, or sound.
– These therapies bypass verbal communication barriers common in dementia.
– They create emotional anchors helping patients feel safe amid confusion.
Together, these effects explain why people with dementia show reduced anxiety when receiving touch and sensory therapy—it soothes both body and mind in ways words cannot reach[1][5].
