If you have worked in long-term care long enough, you have heard of the term "window of opportunity." The term is used when a resident responds cognitively or physically above their baseline in brief periods of orientation, motivation, or physical ability. The periods that arise from these cognitive reserve units are challenging to reproduce, measure, and build upon as these enhanced moments or "windows of opportunity" are often fleeting. According to Kraal et al. (2021), predictors of functional status may involve a sense of mastery or self-efficacy in one's abilities, and depression and apathy decrease functional levels or "windows of opportunities. Interdisciplinary teams see the importance of treating comorbidity with depression in the elderly and seek to address the need for mastery and self-efficacy by offering failure-free activities and by promoting the learning and relearning of daily living activities for the cognitively impaired.
–Dr. Stewart
Reference:
Kraal et al., (2021). Functional Reserve: The Residual Variance in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living not Explained by Brain Structure, Cognition, and Demographics. Neuropsychology, Vol. 35: No. 1, 19-3. The American Psychological Association.