Snoezelen Rooms to Help Fight Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

Virginia-based Runk & Pratt Senior Living Communities is developing Snoezelen rooms, or therapeutic spaces for people with dementia and Alzheimer's, reports WSET . "This room creates a sense of calm for that resident, where loved ones are able to sit down and visit with them for 45 minutes to hour sessions, and for a family member that's very comforting," says Runk & Pratt Creative Director Chris Runk. The company has installed a Snoezelen room at the Pearls of Life at Liberty Ridge community, which is the third room set up for such treatment. All of the room's elements are designed to relax the occupant in the hope of temporarily easing their suffering. "We have documented proof at our other buildings, where the rooms have been in place a little longer, that the drugs that are prescribed by the doctors have been cut down 40 to 60 percent because they're in a state of calmness," Runk notes. The Snoezelen room also includes interactive displays to help stimulate the mind.