What are Wandering Location Trackers for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Sufferers?

Wandering is an activity that a lot of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia do involuntarily, as their mind makes them believe that they are lost or in a strange place, even if they are living comfortably at home. 

While it can be difficult to stop or prevent seniors from wandering around at home, you will be able to track where they are wandering inside and outside the house through the use of wandering location trackers, which are GPS devices that will tell you exactly where your elderly loved one is. To learn more, here are details about wandering location trackers for Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers.

What are Wandering Location Trackers?

elderly woman with a smart tracker

Wandering location trackers are devices that will help you know the exact location of a senior that is wandering inside and outside his or her home. These devices usually come in the form of watches, but they can also be belts, necklaces, bracelets, and other accessories that can be worn by the senior. These wandering location trackers can be connected to a smartphone or laptop through an app or a program, and the device can then transmit data to the phone or computer so that you will know the location of the wearer.

The GPS tracker for wandering Alzheimer’s and dementia patients is fairly simple, as they usually don’t have a screen, but there are some that can act like watches because they have a screen that shows the time. So, the wandering location tracker is beneficial not only for the loved ones or caregivers of the wearer but also for the wearer himself or herself, as he or she can use the tracker like a watch or as a smart device.

You may check out our Guide to Selecting Wandering Solutions for People with Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or Special Needs for the best tips and recommendations.

What are the Benefits of Wandering Location Trackers?

location tracker on a smart watch

There are many benefits that you and your elderly loved one can get from wandering location trackers, and most of their benefits are the same or similar to regular GPS trackers. Here are more details about the main benefits of wandering location trackers for seniors that have Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.

They Can Help Locate the Wearer

Of course, the biggest benefit of wandering location trackers is that they can help locate the wearer. The trackers have a built-in GPS or global positioning system that enables you to track the location of the wearer and see if he or she is moving or staying still. [1] 

This GPS feature is very important for seniors with Alzheimer’s and dementia, as they will most likely get lost whenever they are wandering around outside the house. Most of the time, seniors don’t have the cognitive ability to know how to go home anymore, so the chances of them getting lost are very high. So, elderly people with Alzheimer’s should always wear wandering location trackers so that they can be tracked anytime and anywhere.

Track the Wandering Pattern of the Elderly

Another great benefit of wandering location trackers is that you will be able to track the wandering pattern of seniors that have Alzheimer’s or dementia. The wandering pattern is typically available on the app or program that you have installed on your smartphone or computer, and this app can then show you the location of the wearer, as well as his or her pattern of wandering around the house or outdoors.

By tracking the wandering pattern of the senior, you will be able to know where to look in case the tracker fails or glitches. A lot of seniors with dementia have a wandering pattern, although there are some that just wander around randomly outside, so tracking their pattern can be difficult. Nonetheless, this feature is still beneficial for people that don’t want their elderly loved ones to get lost if ever the seniors manage to go outside without accompaniment or supervision.

Monitors the Heart Rate of the Elderly

heart rate monitor on a smart watch

Besides tracking the location of the elderly, some wandering location trackers also have a heart rate monitor that checks the heartbeat of the wearer so that you can see if there are irregularities with the wearer’s heart. Heart rate monitors are very useful, especially for seniors that usually have irregular heartbeats due to having a weaker heart compared to healthy kids and adults. 

So, if the senior that has Alzheimer’s also has a heart problem, the heart rate monitor that is built into the wandering location tracker is highly beneficial. In addition to the heart rate, some wandering location trackers can also monitor the blood pressure of the wearer, another essential feature for seniors that regularly have low blood and high blood pressure.

Can Tell the Time for the Wearer

What’s great about a lot of wandering location trackers is that they can also serve as useful watches for the wearer. Most wandering location trackers have an LCD or LED screen that will tell the wearer the time as well as the date for the day. There are also some trackers that provide information about the weather and the temperature in the area. So, these wandering location trackers are very useful and versatile, although seniors will need to learn how to use these features, which will be easy to do if you guide them.

Wandering location trackers are a must-have for seniors that are suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, as these accessories would enable their loved ones and caregivers to track them in case they go outside to wander around. If you are going to give a tracker to your elderly loved one, be sure to get the best tracker on the market by checking reviews online. 

In addition to wandering location trackers, you may also use cordless alarm systems to keep an eye on wandering patients. You may check out our Guide to Cordless Alarm Systems for Caregivers for more information.

References

[1] Delaney, P. (2022, November 16). The Benefits of GPS Tracking. Simply Unified. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://simply-unified.com.au/benefits-of-gps-tracking/