When it comes to sleeping well, the truth is that most people have some issues. They may not get enough sleep each night, have multiple nights each week or month that they go to bed late, or struggle to stay asleep throughout the night. Many senior citizens face these issues. However, as a family caregiver the more you know about sleep issues and sleep improvement tips, the better you can help your elderly loved one to improve the quality of their sleep.
Staying on the Same Sleep-Wake Schedule
One of the best ways to help your elderly loved one improve their sleep is to get them on the same sleep-wake schedule. For example, if your elderly loved one currently goes to bed and wakes up whenever and it isn’t the same time each day, this could be causing them to wake up a lot throughout the night. If your elderly loved one needs reminders to get ready for bed or help waking up at a certain time in the mornings, you or home care assistance providers can help with this.
Limiting Naps
Does your elderly loved one take a nap every day? If they are like some elderly people, they may even take more than one nap each day. If this is the case, it is important to get your elderly loved one to take a scheduled nap if they need one. The more they nap or the longer they nap, the more sleep issues they are likely to have when they go to bed. It may be necessary for you or a home care provider to make sure you wake your elderly loved one up at a certain time when the nap should be over.
Avoiding Stimulants
Does your elderly loved one drink a lot of caffeine? Are they drinking a lot of caffeine, either pop or coffee later in the day? If this is the case, you should see if they are willing to swap some of those drinks with healthier, non-stimulant beverages. The caffeinated beverages are likely giving your elderly loved one too much energy which can cause difficulties with falling and staying asleep at night.
Conclusion
These are some of the best sleep improvement tips for senior citizens. With these tips, hopefully, your elderly loved one can start to sleep better at night and sleep through the night each night, too. If your elderly loved one continues to have sleep issues, despite the help and support you and home care assistance providers are giving them, you should have them see a doctor about this. There may be a medical cause for the sleep issues your elderly loved one is having.
Sources
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000064.htm
https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/older-people-and-sleeping.html
