Finding ways to prevent dementia through design and technology

Dementia presents itself very differently from person to person, which makes it hard to treat, even with the highest-quality individualised care.  

That’s why our research at Loughborough University is focused on prevention, rather than treatment. Addressing modifiable factors like diet, exercise and lifestyle and the role they play in brain health, as well as environmental factors like air pollution, design and education, allows us to develop possibly life-changing interventions for at-risk patients who have yet to develop dementia.  

We’ve even started to explore how to prevent dementia very early in life – through an exercise programme for primary school children endorsed by the BBC and the Premier League, called Super Movers and setting up a birth cohort in Indonesia to prevent stunting, a risk factor for later life disease, including dementia.  

With women being more at risk of dementia, we also look at how (early) menopause can increase dementia risk and how to mitigate this.  

Importantly. we also need to do more to meet the needs of dementia patients and ensure their living environment gives them the best possible opportunity to slow progression and remain independent and empowered for as long as possible. That’s where our work on inclusive design comes in.  

Our free open-source book with many world-renowned dementia home and environment design experts is part of this. 

We are driven by a need to be inclusive, and to enable self-respect and independence in our patients, designing spaces that accommodate their condition but also – and this is the really challenging part – personal taste.  

It is not always easy using good design principles and marrying these to individual likes and dislikes. But the remarkable finding of our work is that many of the principles behind modern aesthetics and practical interior design are also highly inclusive – clear lines of sight and colour, increased natural lighting, noise reduction features and greater accessibility, such as lifts and step-free home layouts as a standard feature. 

The Chris and Sally House was a partnership that really made progress in this area, and Loughborough designers worked on developing furniture that was both tasteful and designed to be dementia-friendly, including technology such as resistance bands with inbuilt sensors to guide strength, speed and direction of movement, and help support physical wellbeing.   

By incorporating the cognitive changes associated with dementia into how we think about product and spatial design, as well as non-obtrusive technology designed to make living easier (but without the technology itself becoming a controlling and difficult to navigate force in a patient’s life), it’s possible for dementia patients to live independently for much longer.  

This doesn’t only allow the patient to live with dignity, it reduces their stress (by providing meaningful activities and connections) and the subsequent stress on their support networks – including healthcare providers.  

The longer people can remain living independently, comfortably and happily in their own homes, the better for everyone, from their families, friends and neighbours to the NHS (National Health Service). 

Years ago, we coined the phrase, ‘What is good for your heart is good for your brain’.  

Exercise is key, as is psychosocial engagement, which keeps people mentally active. Withdrawal from the world can dramatically accelerate decline.  

My work in Indonesia has shown how adoption of modern unhealthy diets, exposure to environmental pollution, reductions in physical activity, and the decline of multigenerational households, which can limit social contact, can all play a part in spiking dementia rates. Engagement in physical and psychosocial activity can possibly reduce this. 

Another factor that is largely unrecognised is the importance of overheating and dehydration. Many older people lose their sense of thirst and forget to drink over the course of the day. This can be exacerbated by overheating in old people.  

This is associated with cardiovascular issues including stroke risk, confusion and cognitive impairment, and will get worse as average temperatures increase, particularly in the Global South, but anywhere with a rapidly ageing population supported by smaller and smaller numbers of working-age people to keep an eye on them.  

Climate change is therefore also a factor in how we address dementia through design, lifestyle and public education.