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Scientific American

Sleep isn’t the only kind of rest humans need. And during the holidays, many people find themselves emotionally drained — despite spending more time at home, on the couch, or curled up with a hot drink. So what’s going on?

According to psychologist and researcher who studies rest, learning, and well-being, rest isn’t just about sleeping in. We also need active recovery — moments during our waking hours that replenish mental and emotional energy. And it turns out, not all downtime is created equal.

The holidays promise a break, but for many, it doesn’t quite deliver. Financial stress, travel, family tensions, and changes in routine often pile up at the exact time we expect to relax. The result: stress rises and well-being drops.

The solution? Planned, intentional rest, not just idly collapsing into the sofa.

“Reaping the full benefits of rest and leisure requires more than a slow morning or a mug of hot cocoa,” the psychologist writes. “It’s also about intentionally scheduling active recovery periods that energize us and leave us feeling restored.”

What active rest actually looks like

Walking in nature, playing an instrument, spending time with loved ones, or doing a creative hobby — all of these are examples of active rest. Research shows they can lower stress hormones like cortisol, ease anxiety, and even lift symptoms of depression.

Take nature walks. They don’t just get you fresh air. They also calm the part of the brain linked to rumination and sadness. Or consider artistic hobbies like piano or calligraphy — studies show these activities trigger real physiological relaxation.

Still, one of the most important factors in effective rest is how satisfying the activity feels. Watching TV is one of the most common ways people “relax,” but research shows that people often rate it as one of the least enjoyable ways to spend free time, especially after long binge sessions.

“People often spend their free time doing things that are not satisfying,” the psychologist explains. “Distractions like social media might pass the time, but they rarely leave us feeling reenergized.”

So how do you fix poor-quality rest?

Plan your rest like you’d plan your work. Studies show that scheduling enjoyable activities, and sticking to those plans, improves mental health outcomes. That might mean going for a walk after opening presents instead of heading straight into cleanup. Or blocking out time to read a book after a long day of shopping.

The key is to follow a schedule, not a mood. Waiting to “feel like it” can trap you in cycles of poor rest.

What about rest guilt?

Many people feel uneasy when they’re not being productive, even when they’re supposed to be relaxing. This “leisure guilt” can undercut the benefits of downtime — especially during the high-pressure holiday season.

To fight it, the psychologist suggests:

1. Lower expectations. Not every holiday moment has to be picture-perfect. Letting go of over-the-top plans can free up time and energy for real rest.

2. Choose immersive activities. Video games, playing with kids, and outdoor walks require attention and prevent your mind from drifting back to your inbox.

3. Accept the guilt. Don’t try to suppress it — just acknowledge it and move on. Research shows that accepting negative emotions can actually reduce their intensity over time.

The bottom line: Humans need more than sleep. We need meaningful moments of peace — the kind that engage us and actually help us feel better. And especially during the holidays, those moments may need to be scheduled with just as much care as the to-do list.

Experts Urge Embracing Active Rest to Combat Holiday Stress and Enhance Well-Being

BBC News

In North Yorkshire, England, a chance encounter between a deaf teacher and a curious driving instructor turned into a mutual exchange of skills — and a life-changing moment for both.

Sarah-Jade Walker, 35, recently passed her driving test after months of lessons with Adele Oldroyd, a 39-year-old instructor from Selby. But this wasn’t a typical learner-instructor relationship. As Sarah-Jade worked on her driving, she was also teaching Adele British Sign Language (BSL) — and together, they made it work.

“I wanted someone who could do BSL to teach me,” Sarah-Jade said. She had taken lessons before, but wanted an instructor who understood deafness, could sign, and wouldn’t rely solely on spoken instruction. That’s when she met Adele — and it clicked.

“We gelled,” she said. “She understands deaf people and doesn’t shout at them. She’s patient, she’s kind, and she shows me what I need to learn.”

The two originally met during a BSL “bootcamp” that Sarah-Jade was running in January. Adele, who had “always” wanted to learn sign language, was one of the students. It quickly became clear that they could help each other.

They began lessons soon after, and while Adele hadn’t taught a deaf learner before, she adjusted quickly. Lessons involved frequent stops, lots of face-to-face communication, and a mix of lip-reading, BSL, and facial expressions to keep the car — and the learning — moving.

“We just sat and we spoke about the importance of her being clear with me,” Adele said. “If something wasn’t working, what were we going to do about it?”

Sarah-Jade uses a cochlear implant, which gives her some hearing ability, but she practiced driving both with and without it.

“A few times, my battery died and I thought Adele would say, ‘Let’s finish and go home,’” she said. “But no, we carried on. She taught me in sign language how to drive. It gave me confidence.”

The experience was full of challenges for both. Adele’s Yorkshire accent made lip-reading harder at times. “The way we shorten words doesn’t always translate the same way,” she said. “Driving’s tiring as it is. But Sarah had to concentrate even more — on lip-reading, on signs, on my facial expressions.”

But it paid off. When Sarah-Jade took her test in October, Adele called it “my most favourite test ever in the world.”

“I tell everyone that’ll listen to me,” she said, adding that the examiner, Colin, was “phenomenal.”

Sarah-Jade didn’t expect to pass. “It felt like my head exploded,” she said.

Adele, overwhelmed with pride, “did a couple of laps around the car park” when she got the news. “I was over the moon for Sarah because I knew what it meant to her with the kids and work,” she said. “It opened up so many avenues for her that I think we both cried for a little bit.”

Since passing, Sarah-Jade says life has become much easier. She’s now able to drive her children to school and get around on her own schedule.

“I can drive around, take my children to school. Life is so much easier,” she said.

Adele has since started teaching another deaf student, though she notes it’s a different experience. The new student doesn’t communicate verbally in the same way, and regional differences in BSL add to the complexity.

“The sign for ‘stop’ is different up north and down south,” she explained. Her new student is from further away, attending the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby.

Through it all, Adele and Sarah-Jade have stayed friends — bonded not just by the lessons they shared, but by what they learned from each other.

“She gave me patience, as well as vice versa,” Adele said. “And I’ll never forget it.”

This Deaf Woman Passed Her Driving Test After Teaching Her Instructor Sign Language

A group of jazz musicians in Bristol have come together to recreate a landmark album recorded more than four decades ago — and in doing so, they’re helping to revive a festival that’s been struggling to stay alive.

Jazz at the Duke Volume II is the sequel to a live LP recorded in 1979 at the Old Duke, a historic pub on King Street that has hosted jazz since the 1960s. The new album, produced in 2025, features both returning performers from the original session and a new generation of musicians. Proceeds will go toward the Bristol Jazz Festival, which was postponed this year due to lack of funding.

Andy Leggett, one of the few musicians to appear on both records, said the project is a reminder that the music still has something to say.

“I hope this album demonstrates the music isn't dead and has a lot of life in it yet,” he said. “I never considered there would be a part two when we recorded the original.”

The idea came from jazz musician and producer Joe Trudgeon, who stumbled on a copy of the original LP in a charity shop and noticed some familiar names — musicians he had performed with himself.

“A lot of the musicians who were on the original one are sadly no longer with us now, and that's part of the impetus to get it done now as people don't stick around forever,” Trudgeon said.

Rather than record the sequel in a studio, Trudgeon and his collaborators returned to the Old Duke to capture the same spirit, in the same room.

“We could have done the record somewhere else,” he said. “But I wanted to make sure the people on it didn't fade into obscurity, and we should give them a chance to make volume two.”

Co-producer and jazz player Paul Archibald said the venue itself was as much a part of the story as the music.

“As an early jazz live music venue, this pub has to be one of the oldest in Britain doing it, which has been played here since the 1960s,” Archibald said. “It screams legacy.”

The original Jazz at the Duke LP captured a moment in time — a vibrant local jazz scene rooted in traditional New Orleans sounds and a venue packed with loyal fans. Volume II aims to honour that while showing how the music has evolved.

The Old Duke, with its dim lighting and vintage charm, remains one of the few British pubs to offer live jazz seven nights a week. That sense of continuity — and community — is part of what made the new record feel so urgent to the musicians involved.

“It’s a privilege to play alongside these musicians,” Archibald said. “And in another 40-something years perhaps someone will find this album and think it's time for volume three, if the music is still going.”

The team behind Volume II hopes the album not only supports the return of the Bristol Jazz Festival but also introduces the Old Duke’s legacy to a wider audience — and a new generation of listeners.

These Jazz Musicians Just Recreated a Historic Album at a Legendary Pub

Gizmodo

A team of MIT researchers has created a new material that lies flat like a sheet of paper—until you pull a string. With a single tug, it transforms into a fully formed 3D object, from a sturdy chair to a medical splint. It’s not magic, but it’s close.

The breakthrough is inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of cutting paper, and is detailed in a new study published in ACM Transactions on Graphics. But instead of making decorative shapes, the team used a clever algorithm and a bit of material science to create real-world objects that can be flattened, stored, and deployed on demand.

The research comes out of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and could open up possibilities for everything from pop-up medical devices to collapsible space habitats.

“The simplicity of the whole actuation mechanism is a real benefit of our approach,” said lead author Akib Zaman, a graduate student at MIT. “All they have to do is input their design, and our algorithm automatically takes care of the rest.”

How It Works

The process starts with a 3D design. The algorithm then translates that object into a flat pattern made of quadrilateral tiles—imagine a grid of carefully sliced pieces that can hinge and shift into shape. This mimics how kirigami artists cut paper in a way that encodes new structural behaviors.

The system relies on what’s known as an auxetic mechanism, which refers to materials that behave unusually when stretched—they get thicker instead of thinner. That unique property gives the structure strength and flexibility when moving between flat and formed states.

Once the layout is calculated, the algorithm determines an “optimal string path”—essentially, the most efficient route for a pull-string to travel across the surface and lift each tile into place. The result? A structure that folds itself together with one smooth motion.

A Chair You Can Flatten

After running simulations, the team moved to real-world testing. They built a number of objects using laser-cut plywood, including igloo-shaped shelters and medical tools like splints or posture correctors.

One standout was a human-sized chair. The researchers laid it flat, pulled the string, and watched it come to life. It wasn’t just for show—the chair held up under actual weight.

There are still hurdles to overcome. “There will likely be scale-specific engineering challenges” when trying to build much larger structures, the researchers note. But because the algorithm doesn’t depend on any particular material or fabrication method, it’s versatile and easy to experiment with.

The goal now is twofold: tackle those larger engineering problems, and push the technique further by creating smaller, more intricate designs. Modular robots, lightweight shelters for emergencies, and even foldable space architecture could all be in play.

“I hope people will be able to use this method to create a wide variety of different, deployable structures,” Zaman said.

MIT Scientists Create Foldable Structures That Spring to Life With Just One Pull of a String

ESPN

Joe Burrow’s Christmas gifts to his teammates aren’t just thoughtful — they’re prehistoric.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, known for his calm demeanor and offbeat interests, leaned all the way into his fossil obsession this year by handing out real dinosaur, bear, and mammoth remains to the offensive linemen who protect him on the field.

According to Bengals center Ted Karras, it wasn’t just a quirky gesture. It was pure Burrow.
“I think it speaks to his intelligence and interests and his desire to do something unique,” Karras told ESPN. “I thought it was really special.”

Burrow hosted the linemen at his home in Cincinnati earlier this week, where they walked into a scene straight out of a natural history museum — fossil specimens mounted and displayed, ready for the picking. Players chose their fossils in order of arrival and seniority.

Karras selected a woolly mammoth tusk believed to be roughly 30,000 years old. Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims each went home with cave bear skulls. Rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild scored a Tyrannosaurus rex artifact.

“It says a lot about who he is — his personality, his heart, all of those things,” said Brown, who plans to display his skull next to the samurai sword Burrow gave him last year.

That 2023 gift — real swords for the O-line — made waves of its own. Burrow said he was in a “weapons mindset” at the time. This year, he’s in his fossil era.

The 27-year-old’s love for ancient bones first gained attention during his appearance on the Netflix docuseries Quarterback, where he was filmed visiting Chicago’s Field Museum with teammates. At one point, he geeked out over an Archaeopteryx fossil, calling it “sick.”
“When aren’t fossils on your mind?” he said in the series. “They go back millions of years.”

Still recovering from surgery for turf toe, Burrow missed nine games this season. The Bengals sit at 5-10 and will miss the playoffs for the third straight year. But in recent weeks, Burrow has spoken about trying to find happiness in football again — something that was evident in the way he approached gifting his teammates.

He didn’t reveal the gifts ahead of time during his pre-game press conference. “You’ll see,” he told reporters. And when his teammates did, they were all in.

For Brown, the fossil gift was a standout, even compared to flashier presents from other quarterbacks in his career. While playing in Baltimore, he got a slushie machine from Joe Flacco. In Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes gave him a Rolex and Rimowa luggage. This year’s fossil? Different — and unforgettable.

“It was quite an event, man,” said Karras. “He just continues to outdo himself as always with his kindness and generosity and his creativity. We’re just very thankful for him.”

Joe Burrow Gave His Teammates Fossils for Christmas, and They Loved It

In an era of texts and instant messages, a father and son from St. Thomas, Ontario, are betting on something much slower—and much more personal.

Chris Heil and his son Zachary Paquin have launched Once Upon a Letter, a subscription-based storytelling service that delivers fictional tales the old-fashioned way: through physical letters, mailed out every two weeks.

Subscribers receive 24 letters over the course of a year, each one offering a glimpse into the lives of fictional characters through the mail they send. The idea is rooted in nostalgia, but also in a desire for something more tactile and immersive.

“Back in August 2025, we noticed a growing desire for meaningful, screen-free entertainment and something that feels personal,” Heil said. What started as a creative side project quickly turned into a full-time venture after Paquin was laid off from his job in the Alberta oilsands.

Their first series, a wartime romance, has already struck a chord with subscribers. It follows Edward Bennett, a Canadian soldier stationed in Europe during the final year of the Second World War, and his wife Margaret, who is waiting for him back in Halifax.

“It’s told in the first person,” Heil said. “It’s basically letters between Edward and his wife, Maggie. They’re sending letters back and forth about their lives and the things they experience.”

Each letter comes packaged with extras: photos, historical notes, and other materials that help bring the story—and the era—to life. A sample letter, available to prospective subscribers, reads like a farewell note: “I may already be gone, but know that my heart remains here with you. Light your candle in the window as you promised, and I will find my way back to it.”

Future stories are already in development. One is a horror series told through the letters of an archaeologist in Egypt. Another follows Richard Dawson, a struggling Ontario farmer who heads west to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

For Heil and Paquin, crafting these letters is a labour of love. They spend weeks writing, editing, and workshopping each story with input from friends and family. “It’s not really just one of us writing it,” Paquin said. “It goes out to a lot of people, and we take all of their suggestions into account. It takes a bit of time to come up with a good story.”

The project has resonated especially well with older Canadians who grew up writing letters themselves. But it’s not just nostalgia. “We’re trying to go heavy on the Canadian content,” Paquin said. “And we’ve seen a lot of interested people. I think through, and even past the Christmas season, we’ll continue to see a lot of new people using this as a gift for any occasion.”

Interest has also started crossing borders. Paquin says they’ve had inquiries from the United States and are considering international shipping in the new year.

The process of stepping into character and telling a story through handwritten voices is both challenging and rewarding, Heil said. But it’s worth it.

“There’s so much that can be said with just a letter,” he said. “And there’s something about the anticipation—waiting for the next one to arrive—that you just don’t get with a screen.”

Ontario Father-Son Duo Brings Storytelling to Mailboxes with Bi-Weekly Letters

A wild cat species long thought to be extinct in Thailand has been rediscovered, decades after its last confirmed sighting.

Flat-headed cats, one of the world’s most endangered wild feline species, were detected 29 times during a recent ecological survey in southern Thailand, conservation officials and the NGO Panthera announced Friday.

The small, elusive cats hadn’t been seen in the country since 1995.

“We were surprised and thrilled,” said Rattapan Pattanarangsan, Panthera’s conservation program manager. “It’s extremely rare to capture them on camera.”

Flat-headed cats are roughly the size of a house cat, with close-set, rounded eyes and a flattened forehead. They are found only in Southeast Asia and are known to inhabit dense, swampy ecosystems like peat forests and freshwater mangroves — environments that are rapidly disappearing.

In Thailand, much of that habitat has been cleared for agriculture or development. “Thailand's peat swamp forests have been heavily fragmented,” said Kaset Sutasha, a veterinarian and researcher at Kasetsart University. Though not involved in the survey, he’s studied wild cats for years.

Last year, Panthera partnered with Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to install camera traps inside the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary, a remote reserve in the south of the country.

Those cameras captured multiple images and videos of the elusive cats. Because they lack distinctive markings, it’s hard to know exactly how many individual animals were spotted. Still, one clip showed a female flat-headed cat with her cub — a particularly rare and hopeful sign.

Flat-headed cats typically have only one offspring at a time and struggle to reproduce in fragmented habitats. That’s one of the reasons the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates there are fewer than 2,500 adult flat-headed cats remaining in the wild.

Kaset called the rediscovery “exciting” but stressed it’s just the beginning. “What comes after this is more important — how to enable them to live alongside us sustainably, without being threatened,” he said.

The species is known to exist in parts of Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo, according to the Felidae Conservation Fund. Their diet consists mostly of frogs, fish, and shrimp, and they are believed to be nocturnal hunters.

Because of their elusive nature and the difficulty of accessing their wetland habitats, much about the species remains unknown. But Panthera and Thai conservationists say the rediscovery is a strong sign that more can be done to protect the remaining population — starting with preserving the few intact peat swamp forests that remain.

“This is a starting point,” Kaset said. “Now the real work begins.”

Endangered Wild Cat Spotted In Thailand After 30-Year Absence

ABC News

An ordinary school morning turned into a life-saving moment when two young siblings in Ohio jumped into action after their school bus driver suffered a medical emergency.

Catrina, 8, and her older brother Charlie, 14, were on board their Crestview Local Schools bus in Ashland last week when Catrina, sitting near the front, noticed something was wrong.

She asked the driver if she was OK. The driver silently shook her head no.

Catrina immediately rushed to the back of the bus to alert her brother. Charlie, a seventh grader, didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the bus radio and called the school for help.

“When I realized that something was going on, [I] went up there and grabbed the radio and then called the school because I knew that that was the quickest way to get help,” Charlie told ABC affiliate WEWS.

Their quick thinking was captured on the school bus’s onboard video camera, which was later shared by the district.

Despite their young age, the siblings remained composed. “My brother ... on the inside when something's going wrong, he's scared but on the outside, he's like calm and concentrated,” Catrina told WEWS.

Crestview Local Schools Superintendent Jim Grubbs praised not only Catrina and Charlie, but also another student—eighth grader Kali—who instructed other students to move toward the back of the bus and called 911.

“These students were truly outstanding,” Grubbs said in a statement. “They remained calm, communicated clearly, and helped one another in a situation that could have been much worse. Their families should be incredibly proud.”

The driver was taken to hospital and later released. She told school officials she had made a point of teaching students how to use the bus radio, and was relieved they remembered.

A backup driver arrived to finish the route and take the students safely to school.

“I feel proud and happy with myself and happy that we got [the driver] all better now,” Catrina said.

Ohio Siblings, Ages 8 and 14, Help Save School Bus Driver During Medical Emergency

Sunny Skyz

What started as a regular high school basketball game in Cabot, Arkansas turned into a fight for survival when referee Nosakhere Holcomb collapsed on the court from sudden cardiac arrest.

Holcomb was officiating a girls junior varsity game in November when he began to feel lightheaded during the second quarter.

“I’m standing there and I start feeling a little bit dizzy,” he recalled. “And I remember saying to myself, okay at halftime you’re going to need to eat something and drink some water.”

He never made it to halftime.

Holcomb collapsed on the floor in front of players, coaches, and fans. His heart had stopped.

“They saw me die, during a basketball game,” he said.

From the stands, Cabot High School athletic trainer Jennifer Asberry-Mathis sprinted onto the court, joined by several parents with medical backgrounds. One of them was Denise Hicks, a nurse and mother of one of the players. She immediately began chest compressions while others rushed to retrieve the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED).

“You never think it’s going to happen to you,” Asberry-Mathis said. “You train for it and you pray it never happens—and it did.”

Holcomb was shocked with the AED and his pulse returned before he was rushed to hospital.

“Whatever they did is what allowed me to be taken to the hospital and make it to the CCU, and get a stent put in my heart,” Holcomb said. “None of that’s possible if those nurses aren’t here, if that woman isn’t there to take care of me. If those parents aren’t here, I’m not here.”

Doctors discovered he had a 99 percent blockage in his main artery. He now lives with a heart stent and a monitor.

Nurse Denise Hicks said the scene was tense and uncertain.

“Whenever we saw him on the court and were taking care of him on the court, we weren’t sure what was going to happen,” she said.

Fellow nurse and parent Katie Boyd said seeing Holcomb after the fact was overwhelming. “Watching the video was definitely emotional, but very happy and blessed that his life isn’t finished here on earth,” she said.

Weeks later, Holcomb returned to the Cabot High School gym, walking through a tunnel of cheering students and staff. He was reunited with the people who saved his life.

In Nigeria’s Edo language, the name Nosakhere can mean “God stands by me.” For Holcomb, that meaning came to life on a high school basketball court.

“Basketball saved my life,” he said. “Basketball literally saved my life.”

Referee Reunites With Heroes Who Saved His Life After Cardiac Arrest During Game

At 94, Doreen Freeland is back doing what she’s always loved—digging in the dirt, surrounded by animals, and chatting with neighbours. She might not be on a farm in wartime Britain anymore, but she’s found something close at The Village Langley, a care facility designed specifically for people with dementia.

“It was fun sometimes, but it was a bit hard other times when everything's frosty and you got to pick those sprouts,” she says, remembering her years as a “land girl” during the Second World War, when women were recruited to keep farms running while men went off to fight.

Freeland now spends her Thursdays at The Village, southeast of Vancouver, where she gardens, feeds chickens, and bonds with goats. “The goats are quite something,” she says. “I prefer animals to people if it comes to that."

Diagnosed with dementia about five years ago, she left Nova Scotia to live with her daughter, Gail Deyle, who became her full-time caregiver. Though Freeland is also legally blind, she’s never stopped being active. “She told me once that if she can't play in the dirt, she doesn't want to be around,” says Deyle.

They both credit The Village for keeping Freeland engaged and energetic. “If we miss a Thursday, I'm in trouble,” Deyle laughs. “She gets perky every time she visits.”

The Village Langley is built to feel like a small town, not a medical institution. Set on five acres, it includes six cottage-style homes for full-time residents, a general store, a café, a hair salon, a woodworking shop, and a barn. Opened in 2019, it now houses about 75 residents.

Elroy Jespersen, co-founder of The Village, spent 30 years working in traditional seniors’ homes before deciding something had to change.

“I noticed this one group of people who struggled no matter what we did and it was people who were living with dementia,” he says. “Typically, what people would do to try to keep them safe is lock them inside a unit floor or something. I thought that's not a good way to live.”

Jespersen drew inspiration from dementia villages and “green care farms” in the Netherlands, where care is combined with outdoor activities and animal interaction. “No matter what limitations we have or what cognitive or physical disabilities we have, we all want to live our own best life,” he says. “Sometimes there is dignity in risk.”

So far, The Village Langley is the only place of its kind in Canada, though a similar project exists in Comox, B.C. Now, researchers at Simon Fraser University and McMaster University are studying the model to understand its impact—and whether it can be replicated more widely.

Professor Habib Chaudhury, who is co-leading the research, says the approach aligns with existing evidence. “Quality of life that includes greater mobility, reduced number of falls, resulted in better sleep, lower depression,” he says, listing the benefits seen in similar models in Europe.

But most long-term care in Canada still looks and feels institutional. “Long corridor, rooms on both sides,” Chaudhury says. “Very few have outdoor spaces that people can actually go and spend time in. Quite often, we sacrifice quality of life for the sake of safety.”

Starting in 2026, researchers will spend time at The Village interviewing residents, families, and staff while tracking changes in sleep, mood, and engagement. “The research team’s goal is to provide evidence that can inform future policy,” says Chaudhury, “to promote and implement innovative approaches in long-term care that will create a normalized and naturally rich, supportive care community.”

Still, there’s a catch—cost. Living full-time at The Village Langley runs between $10,000 and $13,000 a month, and currently there is no government funding. “Right now this is all done privately,” Jespersen says.

He hopes the research will lead to broader public support and funding. But experts caution that while the model shows promise, it’s not a cure.

“It’s not going to prevent them from getting worse,” says Dr. Howard Chertkow, a cognitive neurologist at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto. But he agrees the environment brings together key factors known to help: social contact, movement, and time outdoors. Still, he says public funding will depend on clear data. “We’re really going to need evidence, good evidence of what is effective. We don’t want just wishful thinking that a program is going to help.”

For Chertkow, prevention remains the most cost-effective strategy. “With exercise, with social stimulation, with better control of blood pressure … there are a number of things that can probably prevent up to half of the cases of dementia.”

More than 770,000 Canadians are living with dementia, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. That number could climb to 1 million by 2030 and 1.7 million by 2050. And stigma still plays a role in isolating those who are diagnosed.

“If you're not being invited to things, you're not being out there,” says Dave Spedding, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. “Isolation is really the enemy of the dementia journey.”

Spedding says approaches that reduce isolation benefit both patients and caregivers. For Deyle, The Village has helped her mother stay connected—to people, animals, and the earth.

“They seem to cater to just about everything that I like,” says Freeland, shovel in hand, surrounded by goats and friends. “Gail is quite pleased to leave me here and have a breather every now and again.”

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