Health
Alzheimer’s caregiver handbook: Here are expert tips and techniques for those who tend to dementia patients
Alzheimer’s disease puts a significant burden on not only the nearly seven million people who have been diagnosed with it, but also the caregivers supporting them.
More than 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, according to data from the Alzheimer’s Association. And 70% of them say that caregiving is stressful.
Dr. Heather Sandison, a renowned expert in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia care, said it’s critical for caregivers to protect their own mental and physical health.
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In her new book “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health,” published by HarperCollins on June 11, Sandison — who is based in California — outlines the specific risks that caregivers face.
In the excerpt that follows, Sandison offers some tips and techniques for how caregivers can release expectations and practice self-compassion.
Dr. Heather Sandison, left, a renowned expert in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia care, said it is critical for caregivers to protect their own mental and physical health. Her new book is “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health.” (Dr. Heather Sandison/iStock)
Read an excerpt from Dr. Sandison’s new book
Dr. Heather Sandison: When I meet with a new dementia patient, I know that I am treating their caregiver in addition to treating them.
Of course, not every caregiver is on board with the idea of prioritizing their own health at that moment — mostly, they want to do everything they can to help their loved one get better.
“Dementia is almost like a virus. It doesn’t affect just one person. It can reach out and impair the cognitive health of the people who care for the patient, too.”
But dementia is almost like a virus. It doesn’t affect just one person. It can reach out and impair the cognitive health of the people who care for the patient, too.
To be blunt, if you are not caring for yourself, you are not going to be a good caregiver.
Taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s is such a big and important job that it’s easy to lose yourself to it … If you don’t also care for yourself, your effectiveness and your health will suffer, which will only make things worse for the person you’re caring for.
Risks of caregiving
I’m guessing you already know that caring for someone with dementia is taxing. You may not realize just how detrimental to your own health it can be. I’m sharing this list so that you can see the potential costs of not tending to your own well-being during this time.
An expert in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia care, Dr. Sandison believes that reversal isn’t just possible but that it’s already happening in multiple patients. (Dr. Heather Sandison)
Caregiver burden
Whether you’re living with your care partner and providing day-to-day care, or living at a distance and providing mostly financial and/or logistical support, having someone in your life who has dementia is often hard in multiple ways — emotionally, physically and financially.
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Many people find that their sleep, diet, physical exercise and fun suffer. It’s a burden that works in two directions: It’s common to give up the things that help you stay healthy, and to feel a big weight of responsibility, frustration and guilt.
With Alzheimer’s, patients lose their independence, and there are no benchmarks that align with a predictable timeline. That unpredictability can make the experience stressful and uniquely challenging.
Impaired cognitive function
Research has found that dementia caregivers have significantly lower scores on tests of cognitive function.
“With Alzheimer’s, patients lose their independence, and there are no benchmarks that align with a predictable timeline,” Sandison writes. “That unpredictability can make the experience stressful and uniquely challenging.” (iStock)
This may be linked to the fact that many caregivers report poor sleep, which can impair your ability to process and respond to information, and thus can influence how safely you are able to perform complex caregiving tasks.
Depression
Depression and dementia are closely linked — having depression can increase your risk of dementia, and having dementia can increase your risk of depression.
“Taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s is such a big and important job that it’s easy to lose yourself to it.”
On top of that, caregivers of people with dementia experience depression more frequently than the general population, and depression in a caregiver can in turn affect the status and prognosis of the dementia patient.
Isolation
A common feeling among dementia caregivers is that people who aren’t also caring for someone with dementia can’t understand what it’s like, which understandably can lead to feeling isolated from others.
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Also, your devotion to your loved one can make it hard to ask for help. On top of that, your caregiving duties may be preventing you from getting together with friends or doing things that get you in the company of others, such as working out at the gym, attending church or participating in some other social activity.
Dementia risk
Devastatingly, all these negative effects combine to create an increased risk of developing dementia yourself — up to a sixfold increase compared to non-caregivers. Which is not to say that caring for someone with dementia definitely means you are getting dementia, too.
It’s really when the sense of caregiving burden is high — and you don’t exercise as much, sleep as well or make healthy food choices — that this risk is at its highest.
Caregiver non-negotiable: At least one day off
If there’s one thing I know for absolute certain about Alzheimer’s, it’s this: Taking care of someone with dementia is not a one-person job.
Trying to do it all yourself without ever taking a break is impossible. It will only increase your caregiver burden and put you on the path to burnout, which can then take a toll on your own risk of developing dementia and render you less able to care for your loved one.
More than 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. (iStock)
It’s for this reason that I tell every caregiver I encounter that there is only one nonnegotiable piece of any caregiving plan, and that is that you take at least one full day a week off from caregiving.
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Why? In addition to staving off your own burnout as well as giving you some time to care for yourself, putting in place a “my day Friday” (or any other day[s] of the week) will force you to line up some help.
Even if you think you don’t need any assistance now, it is only a matter of time until that changes.
Tools and techniques
Whether you realize it or not, you already have ways of coping with the stress that caregiving can give rise to — it’s just that they are likely not that helpful in the long run. That may be skipping out on sleep, drinking alcohol, blaming others, blaming yourself or deciding that you just need to try harder.
All these can ultimately only add to your caregiver burden, not lessen it.
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Here, I’m providing a laundry list of tools and techniques that can help make a positive difference in both your day-to-day reality and your long-term health.
Reframing
This is a shift in your thinking that helps you deal with the unexpected with more equanimity — such as when your loved one is not listening to you. It’s very easy to be judgmental in these moments, and to feel victimized, as in “Why are they making my life harder?” Especially when you’re caring for a family member, with whom you have a long history.
Ultimately, making it about you and judging the other person leads to more disconnection, which can breed upset and an escalation of the challenge.
“Self-compassion has also been shown to reduce the perception of caregiver burden,” Sandison writes. “An important way you can implement self-compassion is to continually remind yourself that you’re doing your best.” (iStock)
Whenever you’re in that place of judgment, there is an invitation in that moment to notice that you’ve gotten upset, and then reframe your loved one’s behavior as the communication of an unmet need.
Determining an unmet need requires some curiosity and some detective work. In any situation, take a step back and objectively ask, “What’s going on here?”
“There is only one nonnegotiable piece of any caregiving plan, and that is that you take at least one full day a week off from caregiving.”
For example, if your care partner isn’t listening to you, instead of concluding that they are choosing not to hear you, stay open enough to investigate if their hearing aid is turned up, or needs a new battery, or if there’s too much background noise.
Releasing expectations
This is probably one of the hardest things about loving and caring for someone with dementia — little by little, they lose the ability to do things they once could, whether that’s log into an online account, manage finances, remember your name or brush their teeth.
As painful as these losses can be to witness, what makes them more upsetting is when you expect your loved one always to be able to do what they once could.
That’s why, even though you hold out hope that they will be able to do some of these things again, it’s helpful to everyone — especially you — if you can let go of the expectation that they continue to be the person they were. By releasing the expectation, you can relieve yourself of at least a bit of the disappointment that comes from being let down when your expectation isn’t met.
Take at least one day off per week from caregiving, an Alzheimer’s expert and author of a new book recommends. (iStock)
Maintaining a spirit of curiosity can help.
Saying things to yourself such as, “I wonder how this will go,” can help you meet your care partner where they are that day. Don’t forget to enjoy and celebrate when your loved one does regain capacity.
Self-compassion
Self-compassion has also been shown to reduce the perception of caregiver burden. An important way you can implement self-compassion is to continually remind yourself that you’re doing your best.
That may not mean you’re doing a perfect job, or even a great job — some days, you may need to phone it in because you didn’t sleep well the night before, or you’re not feeling well, or you have to focus on work that day, and that’s OK.
But it does mean that you are doing the best you can in that moment.
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The fact that you are willing to be a pioneer and learn about the things that can prevent or reverse the downward slide of dementia and put in the work to help your loved one get better suggests to me that not only are you doing your best, you’re doing a phenomenal job. It’s not easy to be at the forefront of a movement.
“Try talking to yourself the same way you would talk to a friend — someone you care for, and whom you’re trying to encourage.”
Another important tool is to become aware of how you talk to yourself. We all have moments when we get frustrated, say the wrong thing or do something we later wish we could take back. I think we can agree that no one is perfect.
So when things do go wrong, begin to notice what you say to yourself about it. It helps you become an observer of your own thoughts, which then creates a window of opportunity to be more intentional about what you tell yourself.
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In these moments, try talking to yourself the same way you would talk to a friend — someone you care for, and whom you’re trying to encourage.
If they made a mistake, I’m guessing you wouldn’t criticize them.
You would just remind them that they’re doing their best. Resist the urge to say harsh, judgmental or downright mean things to yourself.
Excerpted with permission from the new book, “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health” (HarperCollins) by Dr. Heather Sandison, copyright © 2024 by Dr. Heather Sandison. All rights reserved.
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In a dramatic turn of events that’s captured the attention of animal lovers worldwide, Punch — the young macaque at a zoo in Japan famous for his inseparable bond with a stuffed orangutan toy — has reached a major milestone in his journey toward social integration.
On Thursday, visitors and staff at the Ichikawa Zoological and Botanical Garden witnessed a breakthrough: Punch was seen cuddling with and hitching a ride on the back of a fellow macaque.
Punch’s story began with hardship. He was abandoned by his mother shortly after his birth in July 2025 — and to ensure his survival, zookeepers stepped in to hand-rear the primate.
On Jan. 19, 2026, the zoo officially began the process of reintegrating Punch into the “monkey mountain” enclosure.
The transition was initially fraught with tension.
Punch’s story began with hardship when he was abandoned by his mother shortly after he was born. To help him, zookeepers gave him a stuffed toy that he began dragging around everywhere he went. (David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images)
As a hand-reared infant, Punch was bullied and ignored by the established group of monkeys.
He was often seen huddled alone with his orange plush companion while the rest of the troop interacted.
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In an official statement released Feb. 27, the Ichikawa Zoological and Botanical Garden detailed the meticulous care behind this process.
Previous viral videos showed Punch bullied by the rest of the troop, running to his plushy toy for comfort. (David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“From an animal welfare perspective, our primary goal is to reintegrate Punch with the troop,” the zoo said.
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The strategy involved nursing Punch within the enclosure, so the troop could recognize him as one of their own, and pairing him with a gentle young female macaque prior to his full release to build his confidence.
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The latest footage, captured by X user @tate_gf, suggested the zoo’s patience is paying off.
The video shows Punch seeking physical contact not from his toy, but from another monkey — eventually climbing onto its back for a vital social behavior for young macaques: the “piggyback ride.”
The zoo’s strategy appears to be paying off: Punch, shown at far left, was recently seen riding on the back of a fellow macaque. (David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While Punch still carries his stuffed toy for comfort during moments of perceived danger, the zoo remains optimistic about his progress.
The organization cited the successful 2009 case of Otome, another hand-reared macaque who eventually outgrew her stuffed toy, successfully integrated — and went on to raise four offspring of her own.
The zoo has had crowds coming to see Punch, with hundreds of people lining up to get inside to see the young star, according to reports.
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“I’m hoping Punch has a good life like everybody else does, and think he’s a cute little guy,” one person commented online.
“Such a precious baby,” another person wrote.
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Artificial intelligence has been touted as a boon to healthcare, but a new study has revealed its potential shortcomings when it comes to giving medical advice.
In January, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, the medical-focused version of the popular chatbot tool.
The company introduced the tool as “a dedicated experience that securely brings your health information and ChatGPT’s intelligence together, to help you feel more informed, prepared and confident navigating your health.”
But researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that the tool failed to recommend emergency care for a “significant number” of serious medical cases.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Feb. 23, aimed to explore how ChatGPT Health — which is reported to have about 40 million users daily — handles situations where people are asking whether to seek emergency care.
Artificial intelligence has been touted as a boon to healthcare, but a new study has revealed its potential shortcomings when it comes to giving medical advice. (iStock)
“Right now, no independent body evaluates these products before they reach the public,” lead author Ashwin Ramaswamy, M.D., instructor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, told Fox News Digital.
“We wouldn’t accept that for a medication or a medical device, and we shouldn’t accept it for a product that tens of millions of people are using to make health decisions.”
Emergency scenarios
The team created 60 clinical scenarios across 21 medical specialties, ranging from minor conditions to true medical emergencies.
Three independent physicians then assigned an appropriate level of urgency for each case, based on published clinical practice guidelines in 56 medical societies.
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The researchers conducted 960 interactions with ChatGPT Health to see how the tool responded, taking into account gender, race, barriers to care and “social dynamics.”
While “clear-cut emergencies” — such as stroke or severe allergy — were generally handled well, the researchers found that the tool “under-triaged” many urgent medical issues.
The team created 60 clinical scenarios across 21 medical specialties, ranging from minor conditions to true medical emergencies. (iStock)
For example, in one asthma scenario, the system acknowledged that the patient was showing early signs of respiratory failure — but still recommended waiting instead of seeking emergency care.
“ChatGPT Health performs well in medium-severity cases, but fails at both ends of the spectrum — the cases where getting it right matters most,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. “It under-triaged over half of genuine emergencies and over-triaged roughly two-thirds of mild cases that clinical guidelines say should be managed at home.”
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Under-triage can be life-threatening, the doctor noted, while over-triage can overwhelm emergency departments and delay care for those in real need.
Researchers also identified inconsistencies in suicide risk alerts. In some cases, it directed users to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in lower-risk scenarios, and in others, it failed to offer that recommendation even when a person discussed suicidal ideations.
“ChatGPT Health performs well in medium-severity cases, but fails at both ends of the spectrum.”
“The suicide guardrail failure was the most alarming,” study co-author Girish N. Nadkarni, M.D., chief AI officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, told Fox News Digital.
ChatGPT Health is designed to show a crisis intervention banner when someone describes thoughts of self-harm, the researcher noted.
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, the medical-focused version of the popular chatbot tool, in January 2026. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We tested it with a 27-year-old patient who said he’d been thinking about taking a lot of pills,” Nadkarni said. “When he described his symptoms alone, the banner appeared 100% of the time. Then we added normal lab results — same patient, same words, same severity — and the banner vanished.”
“A safety feature that works perfectly in one context and completely fails in a nearly identical context … is a fundamental safety problem.”
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The researchers were also surprised by the social influence aspect.
“When a family member in the scenario said ‘it’s nothing serious’ — which happens all the time in real life — the system became nearly 12 times more likely to downplay the patient’s symptoms,” Nadkarni said. “Everyone has a spouse or parent who tells them they’re overreacting. The AI shouldn’t be agreeing with them during a potential emergency.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Open AI, creator of ChatGPT, requesting comment.
Physicians react
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, called the new study “important.”
“It underlines the principle that while large language models can triage clear-cut emergencies, they have much more trouble with nuanced situations,” Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
ChatGPT and other LLMs can be helpful tools, a doctor said, but they “should not be used to give medical direction.” (iStock)
“This is where doctors and clinical judgment come in — knowing the nuances of a patient’s history and how they report symptoms and their approach to health.”
ChatGPT and other LLMs can be helpful tools, Siegel said, but they “should not be used to give medical direction.”
“Machine learning and continued input of data can help, but will never compensate for the essential problem – human judgment is needed to decide whether something is a true emergency or not.”
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Dr. Harvey Castro, an emergency physician and AI expert in Texas, echoed the importance of the study, calling it “exactly the kind of independent safety evaluation we need.”
“Innovation moves fast. Oversight has to move just as fast,” Castro, who also did not work on the study, told Fox News Digital. “In healthcare, the most dangerous mistakes happen at the extremes, when something looks mild but is actually catastrophic. That’s where clinical judgment matters most, and where AI must be stress-tested.”
Study limitations
The researchers acknowledged some potential limitations in the study design.
“We used physician-written clinical scenarios rather than real patient conversations, and we tested at a single point in time — these systems update frequently, so performance may change,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital.
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Additionally, most of the missed emergencies happened in situations where the danger depended on how the condition was changing over time. It’s not clear whether the same problem would happen with acute medical emergencies.
Because the system had to choose just one fixed urgency category, the test may not reflect the more nuanced advice it might give in a back-and-forth conversation, the researchers noted.
ChatGPT Health is designed to show a crisis intervention banner when someone describes thoughts of self-harm. (iStock)
Also, the study wasn’t large enough to confidently detect small differences in how recommendations might vary by race or gender.
“We need continuous auditing, not one-time studies,” Castro noted. “These systems update frequently, so evaluation must be ongoing.”
‘Don’t wait’
The researchers emphasized the importance of seeking immediate care for serious issues.
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“If something feels seriously wrong — chest pain, difficulty breathing, a severe allergic reaction, thoughts of self-harm — go to the emergency department or call 988,” Ramaswamy advised. “Don’t wait for an AI to tell you it’s OK.”
The researchers noted that they support the use of AI to improve healthcare access, and that they didn’t conduct the study to “tear down the technology.”
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“These tools can be genuinely useful for the right things — understanding a diagnosis you’ve already received, looking up what your medications do and their side effects, or getting answers to questions that didn’t get fully addressed in a short doctor’s visit,” Ramaswamy said.
“That’s a very different use case from deciding whether you need emergency care. Treat them as a complement to your doctor, not a replacement.”
“This study doesn’t mean we abandon AI in healthcare.”
Castro agreed that the benefits of AI health tools should be weighed against the risks.
“AI health tools can increase access, reduce unnecessary visits and empower patients with information,” he said. “They are not inherently unsafe, but they are not yet substitutes for clinical judgment.”
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“This study doesn’t mean we abandon AI in healthcare,” he went on. “It means we mature it. Independent testing and stronger guardrails will determine whether AI becomes a safety net or a liability.”
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