Why Senior Citizens Need the Right Lighting

Lighting controls and proper illumination aren't just for busy families seeking convenience, aesthetics and energy savings. They can be vital for senior citizens and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Mark Warner, an “architectural gerontologist,” is an authority on modifying living environments to accommodate the needs of seniors suffering from age-related illnesses and conditions. A registered Architect, Warner is the author of The Complete Guide to Alzheimer’s-Proofing Your Home and In Search of the Alzheimer’s Wanderer.

Warner explains that “good, uniform lighting in the home should not be underestimated and can significantly impact one’s abilities to perform certain activities of daily living and avoid some consequences of the disease [Alzheimer’s].

He suggests these opportunities for lighting control in the homes of seniors and those afflicted with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Seeing and taking medications: One of the places home assessment experts look for problems is on the floor in the bathroom and kitchen, where medications are taken. If they discover pills there, that suggests that the patient or caregiver is dropping the pills and may not be able to see them on the floor. Placing lights at floor-level could potentially reduce the loss of often expensive medications.

Pathways: Just for basic safety, better lighting makes it easier for people to see where they are going, to avoid objects that may get in the way, and to locate items to reach for in the event of a fall.

Mobility: When it comes to Alzheimer’s, obstacles (and the inability to see them) can result in reduced efforts to get up and go places, including the bathroom. If one cannot see where they are going, or if they anticipate failure along the way, they may just remain on the couch and have an accident.

Bathrooms: Night lights placed in the bathroom serve to attract attention and help the person with dementia find and identify the bathroom.

Nocturnal wandering: Wandering and sleep dysfunction are not symptoms of dementia-related disorders, but they do happen frequently enough with these conditions to consider them to be possible and even likely occurrences. Therefore, if people wander at night, it is much safer to make it possible for them to see where they are going than not to.

Reducing illusions: Better and uniform lighting reduces shadows that can be misinterpreted.

Improved vision: As we age we need three to four times the amount of lighting we needed when we were younger.

Better choices: Poor lighting contributes to poor choices, in such things as clothing selection, food and snack selection. Better lighting can reduce the likelihood of mistaking one product for another.

Fear of darkness: Retrogenesis (moving backward in time) is a common occurrence with Alzheimer’s disease. As such, if one was afraid of the dark as a child, it is very possible that as they regress they may once again experience such fears. Better lighting reduces this concern.

Exterior lighting: Flood lights reduce the likelihood of mistaking things seen outside the window at night. They can also help the caregiver see and discover the person with dementia, if they happen to leave home at night. Flood lights can act as beacons to help direct the person back home at night, and to aid in their discovery if they do wander out.

Mistaking forgetfulness: Mistakes resulting from poor lighting might appear to be symptoms of dementia, when in fact the person just made a mistake. For example, forgetfulness and difficulty finding things are common occurrences with dementia; however, if you cannot see what you are looking for, you will certainly have more difficulty finding it - dementia or no dementia.

Mental faculties: Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain, the very tool we use to process information. If we cannot see and distinguish the information needed to be processed, poor decisions will be made and information will be improperly processed or fail to be processed.

For more information, visit the Alzheimer’s Store and The Alzheimer’s Daily News.


Learn more about Home Health Technology and Aging in Place
Electronic House Expo, March 17-19, 2011, Orlando, Fla.