Home Health Care: Does your elderly loved one get enough quality sleep?
It is important to note that just because they are sleeping 8 to 9 hours every night, that doesn’t mean the sleep they are getting is quality. On the other side, just because they are only getting 6 hours of sleep each night, that doesn’t mean they aren’t getting quality sleep. You or the home health care providers can watch for signs of exhaustion or tiredness. If your elderly loved one doesn’t seem like they are sleeping well, there are some ways to improve the quality of their sleep.
Find the Problem
If your elderly loved one isn’t sleeping well, the first step is to find out the problem. It is difficult to make a proper solution if you don’t know what is wrong in the first place. Some common things that cause sleep difficulties in the elderly include:
- Taking pain medications too close to bedtime
- Drinking caffeinated beverages later in the day
- Exercising too close to bedtime
- Having loud noises in the home
- Sleeping with the lights on
- Using electronics in the bedroom
If you or home care providers can help your elderly loved one to find the reason why they aren’t getting good sleep, you can make a plan to solve that problem.
Setting Up a Routine
Is your elderly loved one on an erratic sleep schedule? Maybe, some nights they aren’t going to sleep until 3 a.m and other nights they are going to sleep at 10 p.m. Some mornings they may be sleeping in until 11 a.m. and other mornings they are up by 5 a.m. The more erratic your elderly loved one’s sleep schedule is, the less quality sleep they are going to get. If this is happening for your elderly loved one, you or in-home care providers can work with them to set up a better sleep routine. They should find a time that works best for them to wake up in the morning. Then, they should figure out how much sleep they need to feel rested. For some elderly people it is about 6 hours and others might need a lot more. This is going to be some trial and error.
Home Health Care: Conclusion
There are far too many senior citizens who aren’t sleeping well at night or not sleeping enough. It is important to remember that sleeping too much can cause issues, as well. It is crucial that you and senior care providers help your elderly loved one to find the source of their sleep issues. Then, you can help them to make a plan, so they can finally start getting quality sleep on a regular basis.
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