Sensory stimulation

Sensory stimulation

Sensory stimulation is crucial among elderly persons. It is the process of activating multiple senses of a person such as vision, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch senses. Among the elderly sensory stimulation is an immense task because it demands the utilization of a wide range of activities and materials to stimulate the sense. This paper discusses the sensory stimulation of an elderly individual who lives by himself in a small, cramped, and under furnished environment.

Stimulation techniques

The first stimulation strategy is to take the elderly person outside, such as taking him out for a walk, which will help in stimulating their vision, smell, and touch sense. The outdoor walk will help the client to interact with other people, therefore, promoting social interactions. The second stimulation strategy is the use of nostalgia. Nostalgia is beneficial to patients, primarily those who have dementia and other memory-related disorders (Cieśla et al., 2019). In this case, it is essential to establish activities that the patient enjoyed the most in their earlier lives.  Nostalgia will help the patient to remember events and sensations that formed the major part of their lives. Thirdly, is the combining sense technique, which entails the combination of numerous but different activities to help in awakening different senses (Koo & Hwang, 2019). Combining sense technique uses a short duration and ensures the patient becomes more anticipated..

Nursing interventions

The first nursing intervention is sleep pattern control in which the patient adheres to a particular set sleeping pattern. Enough sleep and rest enable the mind to relax, which results in improved sensory stimulation and improved quality of life (Kim, 2016). The second intervention entails energy conservation techniques because the patient will be involved in outdoor activities that require energy. Besides, organizing and refurbishing the room is critical in the stimulation of the senses of the patient (Wilmot et al., 2019). Therefore, it is essential to repair the lighting system, leveling the stairway, and rearranging the room to provide more space for easy movement.

References

Kim, N. J. (2016). Effects of Sensory Stimulation Type on Learning in Elderly People. Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research, 7(2), 994-998.

Cieśla, K., Wolak, T., Lorens, A., Heimler, B., Skarżyński, H., &Amedi, A. (2019). Immediate improvement of speech-in-noise perception through multisensory stimulation via an auditory to tactile sensory substitution. Restorative neurology and neuroscience, 37(2), 155-166.

Koo, J., & Hwang, H. (2019). Effect of Sensory Stimulation Type on Brain Activity in Elderly Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research, 10(1), 1700-1705.

Wilmot, S., Alfonso, A., Velez, J., &Edeer, A. O. (2019). The Effect of Sensory Stimulation versus Motor Control Cueing of the Foot on Balance in Elderly Females: Single Group Pretest-Posttest Study. Advances in Aging Research, 8(06), 119.