This is my final blog on Alzheimer’s disease, the complex form of dementia that affects over five million Americans, including my Gran. To be clear, there is no cure yet for Alzheimer’s though many researchers have been diligently searching in more recent years. As I set out on my last bout of research on Alzheimer’s for this blog, I stumbled on to something called “Mindfulness,” a new coping method praised by CBS News.

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When I read the article on CBS’s website, I found it vague. It didn’t explain the technique or how they tested it. So far, I was cynical of Mindfulness. So I went to the original research paper to learn more. Mindfulness, it turns out, emphasizes awareness of breathing, emotions, and communication skills, and light yoga for both Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers. Side-note, I’m in a yoga gym class myself. While I recognize the calming benefits and the physical exercise, I was wary after reading the Mindfulness description, skeptical that it could actually improve the condition of Alzheimer’s patients.

Before the study, patients and caregivers were both given cognitive tests and questionnaires that analyzed quality of life, depression, anxiety, sleep patterns, daily activities, and other aspects of patient and caregiver life. All of this was repeated after the eight-week program. In the eight-week period, patients and caregivers went to weekly group sessions on Mindfulness. In addition, patients were given 30 minute and hour long “homework” on Mindfulness practices including mild yoga exercises and breathing techniques.

So what were the results? Well interestingly enough, although the patients and caregivers expressed positive opinions about Mindfulness, concrete results were fuzzy. The results from the cognitive tests were inconclusive, not suggesting any positive impact of Mindfulness on the actual cognitive condition of Alzheimer’s. It did not improve memory or have an impact of statistical significance on daily life activity level, or sleeping patterns.

But here’s where Mindfulness did potentially succeed: outlook. Mindfulness seemed to have a positive, small yet significant impact on Quality of Life, Depression, and Anxiety in both patients and caregivers. Caregivers showed significant increases in patience and understanding in their reactions to patient problems. One caregiver remarked on Mindfulness, “Mindfulness helped me be more compassionate and thoughtful toward my elderly mother. It also helped me to live in the moment as well as reduce the adverse reaction to stress.” A patient made a similar remark: “The overload of stressors didn’t ease, but my sense that I’m coping better than I had thought (and as time went on, better than I was coping), gave me more energy and focus to deal with what I must.”

It’s difficult to tell the real impact of Mindfulness just yet. Questionnaires based on self-assessment pose a problem with Alzheimer’s patients who often struggle to organize and articulate their thoughts and memories. The study also only consisted of 37 people. Perhaps a larger study that had more objective observation of the patients before, during, and after Mindfulness could shed light on the full ramifications.

But here’s the thing: if all these people are convinced that Mindfulness reduced their stress and helped them cope, it might be worth a shot. The program appears low cost with a substantial reward. And stress is a huge component of coping with Alzheimer’s for both patients and caregivers. So many times when I’ve seen my Gran, she expresses how much stress she feels because everything is harder now; brushing her hair, putting on her shoes, using a key to unlock a door, remembering names and things to do, and so many other little things frustrate her and lead her to be more discouraged and depressed. If Mindfulness can at least alleviate some of this, I’ll see if I can recommend some of the information and practices to my Grandpop as he cares for her. To be honest with you, all of this research into the technicalities of Alzheimer’s is very selfish; I desperately want to hold on to the brilliant, beautiful, rational, loving, and talented Gran I’ve always known. As the end of this blog period comes, my last comments are that I expect a lot of innovative research into Alzheimer’s and a cure for it in the coming decades. ‘Night all.