Study offers guidance on the therapeutic use of mindfulness, yoga to boost mental health for dementia patients

Non-pharmacological interventions, such as mindfulness, meditation, yoga, tai chi and breathing practices, have shown promise in helping to reduce some mental health symptoms of patients living with cognitive decline or dementia, but it has been unclear which types work best, for whom and under what conditions.

Researchers who undertook a scoping review of literature found that such strategies as keeping sessions under an hour, recruiting family or staff to reinforce program participation, having flexible scheduling and clear routines, as well as holding group sessions, can be particularly helpful.

“Many older adults living with mild cognitive impairment or dementia also experience increased rates of mental health symptoms linked to depression, anxiety, loneliness and stress,” said Isabel Sadowski, a PhD candidate in Counselling Psychology at McGill University and lead author of the paper.

“Many studies reported improvements in depression, anxiety, stress and quality of life, though findings were mixed overall,” said Sadowski, summarizing the review’s key findings. “Better outcomes were more often seen when programs were shorter, simpler and cognitively less demanding, and when caregivers and technological reminders were involved.”

A visual map to help clinicians

The research team, composed of collaborators from the McGill Mindfulness Research Lab led by Professor Bassam Khoury, the Université de Montréal and Université de Sherbrooke, undertook a scoping review to provide clinicians with clearer guidelines on these non-pharmacological therapies, known as mind-body interventions.

Following established guidelines, the team screened five databases and analyzed 98 studies from around the world.

They then organized the results into a visual map, which highlights different types of interventions, adaptations made for dementia patients and other aspects of the review, such as implementation barriers and facilitators.

Translating research to practice

The next phase of the research, informed by the review findings, will focus on the real-world development and testing of technology-based mind-body interventions for older adults living in long-term care homes.

Reference:

Sadowski, I., Vilvaratnam, K., Bordeleau, M., Gagnon-Mailhot, M., Meilleur-Bédard, M., Rej, S., & Khoury, B. (2026). Mind-body interventions to promote the mental health of older adults with cognitive impairment and dementia: a scoping review and logic model. Aging & Mental Health, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2026.2616407