How Sensory Experiences Can Support People Living with Dementia

By Adena McGowan, Corporate Director of Memory Care and Experience, Inspīr Senior Living

Throughout my work with individuals living with dementia, I’ve seen how meaningful connection can happen in unexpected ways. A familiar song can bring a smile almost instantly. The scent of something baking can spark conversation. The feeling of soil between someone’s hands can bring them back to an activity they have enjoyed for years.

These responses remind us of something important: even as dementia changes the way a person communicates or processes the world around them, there are still many ways to reach them.

At Inspīr, sensory engagement is one of the ways we create those opportunities. By thoughtfully incorporating sound, touch, taste, smell, sight, and movement into everyday experiences, we can meet individuals where they are and offer different ways to participate, express themselves, and connect with others.

Why Sensory Experiences Can Be So Powerful

Our senses are closely tied to memory and emotion. We all experience this. A certain song can take us back to another time in our lives, or the smell of a familiar recipe can remind us of home before we have consciously made the connection.

For someone living with dementia, these sensory cues can be especially meaningful when  finding the right words or recalling a specific detail becomes challenging.

Research has explored a wide range of sensory-based approaches to better engage people living with dementia, including music, touch, aromatics, nature, art, light, taste, and multisensory environments. While every person responds differently, these studies suggest these approaches may support mood, communication, and behavioral symptoms.

But in my experience, the most important part of sensory engagement isn’t simply providing stimulation. It’s understanding the individual well enough to know what may be most meaningful to them.

It Starts with Knowing the Person

There is no universal playlist, scent, activity, or environment that will resonate with every person living with dementia.

One person may light up when they hear music playing, while another may find the additional sound overwhelming. Someone who spent years gardening may instinctively begin working with flowers or herbs. Someone who regularly baked for their family may enjoy the familiar motions of measuring, stirring, or kneading even if they no longer follow a recipe from beginning to end. That is why knowing someone’s story matters so much.

When we understand a person’s routines, interests, family traditions, culture, career, hobbies, and preferences, we have more opportunities to create experiences that feel familiar and personal. We can also pay attention to what the person is telling us in the moment, even when they aren’t telling us with words.

A smile, a relaxed posture, humming along to music, reaching toward an object, or becoming more engaged in conversation can all tell us that something has resonated.

Baking as a Sensory Experience

One of my favorite examples of this approach is our new Memory Lane Baking program at Inspīr.

Memory Lane Baking is a monthly, hands-on program for individuals living with dementia and their families. Participants prepare simple recipes together, incorporating the familiar sights, smells, textures, tastes, and routines associated with baking.

There is something wonderfully natural about this type of experience. The feeling of dough in your hands. The rhythm of stirring a bowl. The scent of banana bread or cookies baking in the oven. And, of course, tasting what you have made together.

What I appreciate most about the program is that there is no expectation that someone needs to remember a recipe or complete every step independently. That isn’t the point. Someone may mix ingredients, another person may simply enjoy the aroma coming from the oven, and someone else may begin talking about a recipe they used to make with their family.

Families are invited to participate alongside their loved ones, too. It gives them an opportunity to do something together without the pressure of having to sustain a conversation or ask questions that rely on memory. Sometimes connection comes from simply stirring, tasting, laughing, or sitting beside one another.

At the same time, while residents and families enjoy the sensory-rich experience, our talented culinary teams are learning and preparing the same familiar recipe in the kitchen, so they get to enjoy their favorite recipe together. 

Finding Sensory Opportunities Throughout the Day

Sensory engagement does not need to be complicated or limited to a formal program. Some of the most meaningful opportunities happen naturally throughout the day.

Music is a wonderful example. Rather than simply putting on background music, we can think about what an individual actually enjoys. What did they listen to when they were younger? Did they dance? Play an instrument? Attend concerts?

Nature can offer another rich sensory experience. Feeling the warmth of the sun, tending to plants, arranging flowers, listening to birds, or walking outdoors can bring together sight, sound, touch, smell, and movement.

Art, cooking, familiar household tasks, photographs, textiles, and personal belongings can also create opportunities to engage. The key is not how elaborate the experience is. It is whether it means something to the individual.

Sometimes, Less Is More

An important part of sensory engagement is also recognizing when someone has had enough. 

Dementia can affect the way the brain processes sensory information, and environments that feel exciting to one person may feel overwhelming to another. Too much noise, visual clutter, activity, or competing stimulation can make it harder for someone to feel comfortable. This is where observation becomes incredibly important.

Simply put, we adjust. This might look like lowering the music, moving to a quieter area, offering fewer choices, or simply giving the person more time. This is the power of individual, personalized support and care. 

Sensory engagement should never be about filling every moment. Sometimes the most supportive environment is a peaceful one.

Connection Doesn’t Always Require Words

Families sometimes tell us that one of the hardest parts of dementia is feeling as though the ways they once connected with their loved one are changing. I always want families to know that communication may change, but the opportunity for connection remains.

You can listen to a favorite song together without asking, “Do you remember this?” You can look through photographs without needing someone to name every person. You can bake something familiar without following the recipe perfectly. You can walk through a garden, hold hands, or simply sit together.

We don’t always need to ask someone living with dementia to remember the past in order to create something meaningful in the present.

That philosophy is an important part of how we approach memory support at Inspīr. We take the time to understand each individual and look for ways to incorporate their preferences, interests, abilities, and life story into their daily experience. Because sometimes it is a song. Sometimes it is the smell of something baking. Sometimes it is the feeling of a familiar object in someone’s hands.

And sometimes, that small sensory experience can open the door to a connection we might not have reached with words alone.

To learn more about Inspīr and our individualized approach to supporting people living with dementia, we invite you to explore our memory support programs and communities.