This Insidious Dementia
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Habit trackers for Caregivers of loved ones with dementia are a good way to keep your loved one as well as yourself on track to form and maintain healthy habits.
Understanding the challenges of caregiving for dementia
This Insidious Dementia is full of posts written about the challenges of being a caregiver for someone who has dementia and the challenges of dementia.
Things like the banking, the cooking, making sure the ones with dementia change into clean clothes, getting them to actually go in the toilet and not somewhere else…..
It’s also challenging for the caregiver themselves as their health often declines. So it’s important to maintain healthy sleep habits. You need your rest! It’s also important to look for moments where you can meditate/relax and de-stress.
I could go on but let us move on to habit trackers.
what is a habit tracker
Short simple answer – it’s something that tracks a habit! Could be used to track both negative and positive habits.
Benefits of habit trackers for caregivers
There are many benefits for anyone who starts using a habit tracker.
Accountability – Habit trackers provide a visual reminder of your goals and routines, holding you accountable to stick with a certain habit or a caregiving task.
Increased motivation – Seeing progress is a great way to build momentum. Each checkmark, filled in circle, sticker, etc. motivates you to keep up with a habit, helping to reinforce positive behavior over time. Speaking personally, I see progress myself when I look at my arms in a mirror and can see that I’m starting to lose the “bat wing” flaps because I’m working out more with weights.
Clear progress tracking – Trackers give you a clear view of how often a task or habit is completed, helping you identify patterns or areas that need improvement. Yeah, when you start seeing skipped spaces on your chart, then you know things are off track!
Improved focus – With so many caregiving responsibilities, it’s easy to get bogged down and stressed out. A habit tracker helps narrow down priorities, keeping focus directed on a routine or self-care habit.
Reduced stress – By organizing tasks and/or habits in a tracker, it lessens the amount of things a caregiver has to remember, reducing stress and mental overload.
Better time management – Trackers can help you allocate time more efficiently, ensuring important tasks are completed without getting lost in the shuffle of the day.
Encourages consistency – Consistency is key. Habit trackers promote daily routines, making it easier to stick with helpful habits like exercise, meditation or calming activities.
Self-Awareness – Tracking habits over time provides insight into your behavior and well-being.
Health and Wellness – This is a big one. Trackers are particularly helpful for monitoring physical and mental health habits such as sleep, hydration, exercise, mindfulness, which are crucial for both caregivers and those receiving care.
Data – If you’re monitoring your loved one’s habits, tracking offers data on habits that can be helpful when communicating with healthcare professionals.
Visual Reward System – This kinda goes back to #2 and 3. There’s a sense of achievement when you visually see your progress, creating a built-in reward system that encourages you to maintain positive habits or routines. Think positive reinforcement here!
Enhanced Discipline – Consistent tracking can help you develop self-discipline and willpower.
Habit Formation – Regular tracking can help solidify new habits and make them a part of your daily routine.
Behavior Modification – Identifying negative habits through tracking can help you develop strategies to modify them. Hmm, probably should track the number of times I eat a handful of the bit size Reese’s peanut butter cups while I work at my desk in the evening! That’s definitely not a healthy habit.
Examples of habits to track for individuals with dementia
By using habit trackers, caregivers can better understand and manage the needs of their loved ones with dementia, leading to improved quality of life for both of them.
Here are some examples of habits to track –
Eating habits
Sleep patterns
Toileting times
Medication
Daily activities
Behavioral changes (agitation, wandering, Sundowners Syndrome)
Social interactions
It doesn’t have to be just behavior habits that you track. Some people use trackers or logbooks to track birds, car maintenance, RV trip info and other such things as that.
types of habit trackers
Habit trackers are available in different formats. If you’re techy you can get ones that are digital format. There are loads of paper ones out there. You can find many online. You can create one of your own through Google Docs, Sheets or Word. Or you can just take a sheet of paper and create your own.
If you’re looking for ones already made, I have some in my Etsy store for purchase. See the ones below.
These are the trackers/logbooks that I have listed on Amazon. The Daily Caregiver Log and the Daily Care Tracker have the same interior pages. It’s a page that tracks food consumption, bathing, toileting, sleep habits, water intake and a few other things with plenty of room for additional notes.
how to make a behavior a habit
Here are some strategies to make something a habit –
Start Small – Begin with a tiny, achievable version of the habit. For example, if your goal is to exercise daily, start with just 5 minutes.
Make it Easy – Remove any barriers that might prevent you from sticking to the habit. For instance, keep your workout clothes by your bed and prepare healthy snacks in advance. For me, when I made the determination that it was time to start working out at a gym I needed the gym to be close by, on my way home from the gym. That way I wouldn’t be tempted to go home first because I knew I would get home then not want to go work out. (And that worked!)
Create a Trigger – Associate your new habit with a specific cue or trigger. For example, always brush your teeth after eating dinner so you won’t snack later.
Reward Yourself – Celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement!!!
Be Patient – forming a new habit takes time. If you slip up, don’t get mad. Just keep going.
Find a Habit Buddy or an Accountability Partner – It helps to have someone to provide encouragement and support.
Track your Progress – Here’s where the habit tracker comes into play. This is your visual reminder of progress to help you stay motivated.
Something I’ve heard a lot about lately is habit stacking. You pair a new habit with an existing, automatic habit to create a natural cue or trigger for the new behavior.
For example, if you want to start meditating, you could stack it with a morning routine. Every morning after you brush your teeth, you would immediately meditate for a few minutes. Over time, the act of brushing your teeth will become a reliable cue for meditation.
So, if you want to change, track or start a new habit just start! Start somewhere. Just keep in mind that change doesn’t happen overnight. Or even in a month or two. It takes quite a while for a habit to form.