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Is there such a thing as a blue zone for people with dementia? A region where people live much longer (independently / with dignity) after receiving the diagnosis?
When my wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she was 50 years old and we were told the average was 9 years. For her, it turned out to be only 5.5 years, and now I read that in the Netherlands it has also been adjusted to 6 or 7 years.
In the village of Swakopmund you will find the Alzheimer Dementia Center (ADN). It is located in Namibia (Africa), in a desert area by the sea.
There, I have met residents who have lived for 15 years or more after diagnosis. Both young and old people with Alzheimer’s, FTD, and vascular dementia. I could still have a pleasant chat with them, go for a walk through the desert, or see them prepare lunch themselves on the fire of the BBQ, or Braai as they call it, on Saturdays.
Swakopmund, thanks to the cold Benguela current, has a mild desert climate with generally mild to warm temperatures and little rainfall. The average afternoon temperature fluctuates throughout the year between 15-20°C in winter (June-August) and 20-28°C in summer (January-March).
These people live in freedom in a family house, as they call it themselves. An environment where their independence is supported and where the staff do not immediately take over all care.
The house and the surroundings are also not hospitalised. The thresholds, steps and all types of doors have simply remained intact. There is an open kitchen and the doors are open so everyone can move about freely.
Medicines such as antipsychotics are forbidden here. Situations where there is unrest or a form of aggression are observed individually and never suppressed with medication.
And absolutely nobody is in a wheelchair or assisted with a hoist. Also quite remarkable.
Could this be a kind of Blue Zone for people with dementia?
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