From Canvas to Calm: How ‘Art in the Dark’ Reduces Sundowning Behaviors in Dementia
Families navigating dementia know it takes more than just medical care to support a loved one. Quality dementia care also involves collaborating with compassionate, trained care providers and creating environments designed to preserve dignity, foster connection, and adapt with changing needs.
MorseLife’s Memory Care communities reflect over four decades of experience serving Palm Beach seniors with compassion, clinical excellence, and a deep respect for cultural values.
With spacious suites, peaceful gardens, award-winning enrichment programs, and a full continuum of onsite care, our team helps families find both relief and reassurance on their dementia care journeys.
As part of our commitment to forward-thinking dementia care, MorseLife has introduced an innovative approach to help address one of its most persistent challenges: sundowning.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at this issue and explore how art therapy can reduce agitation and support calmer, more connected afternoons and evenings for residents and their caregivers.
Cutting-edge dementia care
Families navigating the challenges of dementia often wonder why their loved one shows more agitation in the afternoons and evenings than earlier in the day. If you’ve noticed this pattern in your loved one with dementia, you’re not alone.
The phenomenon, known as sundowning, is a common symptom of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
As daylight fades, individuals with dementia may experience increased confusion, restlessness, anxiety, or aggression. It’s a reality that impacts nearly 20% of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and it can be one of the most challenging symptoms to understand and manage.
To address this challenge, MorseLife has implemented an innovative, engaging art experience known as Art in the Dark.
This groundbreaking life-enrichment program represents a new direction in non-pharmacological dementia support, helping transform late-day agitation into calm, focus, and even joy, for residents, their caregivers, and loved ones alike.
How ‘Art in the Dark’ Reimagines the Creative Experience
Imagine stepping into a room that’s set up for creation, free from judgment.
This is the essence of Art in the Dark: a carefully designed art program explicitly created to support cognitive engagement and emotional regulation in those living with dementia.
The program helps residents set themselves up for success in their art experience. MorseLife staff provides canvases of varying sizes, paints, brushes, and other supplies. Residents are invited to explore and choose the items that speak to them.
Participating residents are supported and encouraged throughout their experience, with staff offering assistance, gentle suggestions, and guidance as needed to help residents fully engage with this immersive creative art time.
Staff often play music to deepen the experience, with classical tunes favored to promote attention and reduce distraction. Accessibility is the key, and MorseLife team members are always present to assist, guide, and support residents throughout our Art in the Dark sessions. We anticipate their needs, empower their choices, and foster a sense of community engagement, coupled with the joy of individual expression.
For our Memory Care residents, this experience is much more than a diversion; it’s a safe, stimulating way to regulate their emotions and reduce feelings of confusion, agitation, and restlessness during challenging parts of the day, such as when sundowning occurs.
In addition to offering a healing, enjoyable experience, Art in the Dark also allows our residents to reconnect with their creativity and produce some truly beautiful creations that can be shared with and appreciated by others.
Current research and data support MorseLife’s Art in the Dark program
Modern science supports the benefits of interactive art therapy programs for individuals with dementia.
Research notes art therapy is an effective, non-pharmacological intervention for those with dementia, with benefits including reduced sundowning behaviors.
For those with dementia, this translates to an improved quality of life. For their families, it means enhanced peace of mind, knowing their loved one is experiencing feelings of contentment and calm during what may otherwise have been challenging hours.
MorseLife leads the way in Memory Care innovation
Innovation in Memory Care at MorseLife is part of our mission. . For over 42 years, we’ve been leading the way in dementia care, combining clinical excellence with compassion and creativity.
Recognized among the top 1% of nursing homes in Florida by the Governor’s Gold Seal Panel and repeatedly named a Best Nursing Home by U.S. News & World Reports, MorseLife offers an unmatched level of clinical rigor, emotional care, and cultural enrichment to those who choose us for senior living in Palm Beach County.
MorseLife Memory Care communities provide secure, purpose-built residences with consistent caregiver support, onsite physician oversight, nutritious meals, and enriching therapies. Our innovative offerings include the Music & Memory® program, horticultural therapy, virtual reality, and now, Art in the Dark.
If someone you love is struggling with dementia-related behaviors like sundowning, MorseLife’s award-winning, evidence-based dementia care can bring enhanced calm, dignity, and connection to their life.
Download our Memory Care Guide to learn more about this level of care and connect with our helpful advisors to gain personalized insight and guidance on your senior living journey.
