Whether spiritual activities include prayer, religious services, or visits with someone who offers faith-based counsel, they have a therapeutic effect on many people with Alzheimer's disease. Spirituality and faith offer stress relief, hope, and reassurance. Some studies have found that people with probable Alzheimer's who have higher levels of religiosity show slower rates of mental decline.

What's more, religious participation usually involves regular events, rituals, or traditions. Repeated over the years, these memories tend to be wired more fixedly in the brain of someone with Alzheimer's. That's why someone with Alzheimer's may find religious or spiritual activities comforting and easy to follow. These activities also offer an opportunity to socialize and bond with family, friends, and members of the community.

• What you can do: Make provisions for the person in your care to continue attending her routine religious services as long as possible. If her behavior is erratic and sometimes disruptive, see if a "quiet room" is available. (Usually used by mothers of young children, this spot is helpful for people with Alzheimer's, too.) Try going to early or midweek services where attendance is lightest.

If you can find an old hymnal or songbook with songs dating to her youth, she might enjoy it more at home than newer editions with less familiar ones. Try singing them to her if she can't herself. She may enjoy also being read to from the Bible or other familiar religious texts.

Consider other things that may nourish her spirituality, too. For some people, that's a walk in the woods, looking up at the night sky, listening to classical music, or meditation.