Winter Well-Being: How Play & Acts of Gratitude Help People on the Dementia Journey
Winter Well-Being: How Play & Acts of Gratitude Help People on the Dementia Journey
By November, the evenings arrive early and settle in fast. The light that carried us through summer is gone by dinnertime, and the holiday weeks ahead are already filling the calendar. For people living with dementia and the families who love them, this stretch of the year can feel a little heavier. At Artis Senior Living, November’s Power of Play theme meets that heaviness with something small and steady: gratitude.
Why Gratitude Lifts the Mood
Gratitude is one of the most closely studied emotions in positive psychology. In a well-known series of studies, researchers Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough found that people who regularly noted what they were thankful for reported greater well-being and a more hopeful outlook than people who focused on daily hassles. In one group, those who kept a gratitude practice also reported sleeping longer and waking more refreshed.
For people living with dementia, the benefit has a particularly hopeful dimension. Researchers at the University of Iowa found that people with Alzheimer’s disease continued to feel the emotions sparked by an experience well after the memory of the experience itself had faded. A warm exchange leaves a warm feeling behind. That means a moment of thanks, offered or received, keeps doing its quiet work long after the details slip away.
Calm Activities and Better Sleep
Shorter days can unsettle the body’s internal clock, and for people living with dementia, that can show up as restlessness in the late afternoon and trouble settling at night. The National Institute on Aging encourages caregivers to keep a predictable daily routine, schedule more active outings earlier in the day, and keep evenings quiet and soothing.
Gratitude-based play fits naturally into that rhythm. It is quiet and unhurried, and it asks for very little. Painting a smooth stone for someone special or saying “thank you” to the person across the table gives the hands something gentle to do and the heart something warm to hold. Those are exactly the kinds of calm, steady experiences that help a day wind down well.
A Steady Ritual Before the Busy Weeks
The holidays bring wonderful things, along with extra visitors and shifts in the usual schedule. For someone living with dementia, a familiar daily anchor makes all of that easier to take in. Predictability is calming. When a person knows what comes next, the mind can rest.
That is why Artis communities are building weekly gratitude moments into daily life throughout November as part of Power of Play. It might look like residents sharing one thing they are thankful for during a morning gathering, or pausing after lunch to sign a card for a care partner. Each small ritual repeats, and the repetition is the gift. By the time December arrives, gratitude is already a comfortable, well-worn part of the day.
“Gratitude gives people a way to keep giving at every stage of life,” said Michelle Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer at Artis Senior Living. “When a resident makes something for someone else and sees it received with joy, that sense of purpose stays with them. We plan for that kind of warmth on purpose, every day, all season long.”
November’s Grateful Giving Studio
The thing about gratitude is it needs somewhere to go. This month, Artis gives it a destination with the Grateful Giving Studio, a series of hands-on sessions where residents create gifts for the people and neighbors who make their world brighter.
Residents start by decorating colorful bookmarks for students at local schools, a cheerful hello from one generation to the next. Around Veterans Day, they craft paper poppies to honor the service of veterans, many of whom share the same generation and memories. Later in the month, residents paint smooth stones for Artis associates, small keepsakes that say thank you to the people who care for them every day. To close out the month, they paint ornaments for their own families to hang on the tree or display at home.
Each project uses simple materials and open-ended steps, so every resident can find a comfortable way to join in. One person may love choosing colors while another prefers the steady rhythm of brushing paint across a stone. Every finished piece carries the same message, and every resident gets to experience the joy of giving it.
Bringing Gratitude Home
Families can carry this practice into every visit with very little effort. Try opening with one thing you appreciate about your loved one, or look through an old photo together and talk about someone you both feel thankful for. A simple “thank you for being my mom” can land with surprising warmth, and the good feeling it creates can linger long after you head home.
A thank-you takes only a few seconds. Repeated day after day, it becomes a thread that ties people together through the darkest weeks of the year and into the brightness of the holidays. Small habits of gratitude build real, lasting connection, and at Artis, we make room for them every single day.
At Artis Senior Living, we support residents through the darker months with:
- Life enrichment programming that weaves gratitude and giving into everyday routines
- A living environment designed to ease disorientation and support steady daily rhythms
- Daily care grounded in connection and meeting each resident where they are
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