Cognitive, sensory stimulation and relaxation, meditation and hypnosis through a smart skirting board

Abstract

Methods: This research was conducted at the residence of São Pedro in Malveira, Portugal and included forty-five elderly people with ages between 75 and 95 years old. The diagnosis of probable Alzheimer dementia was established following the neurological criteria. For this study we used a room equipped with the SSB® (an invention of J Marujo and V Fernandes) as a holistic therapeutic tool that had integrated a Snoezelen system; a laser system; music; video; objects with different smells, textures and colors and different aromas (orange, lemon, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, etc.). The sessions with 50 minutes per week, carried out between May 2016 and August 2017, were divided into two categories: One to do cognitive stimulation and another to reconnect older people to spirituality. The results of cognitive stimulation’s sessions were registered in a battery of neuropsychological tests to assess cognitive function. The sessions to reconnect older people to spirituality through meditation and relaxation techniques have been proven with a gerontotranscendence’s questionnaire.