Caregiver in Sacramento CA
As people grow older, they typically don’t require as much sleep as when they were younger. That’s a good thing, because sound, restful sleep is harder to get the older we get. In addition to 
changes caused by the general process of aging, many other things can cause changes to or disruptions to one’s sleep pattern. These things can include chronic pain, and conditions such as diabetes, depression, dementia, stress, prolonged fatigue, Parkinson’s disease, and so forth.
As someone providing family caregiving for a loved one, if they are sleep issues for your loved one, you could recommend they try the following to see if they help:
- Reserve the bedroom for sleeping and romance only. Do not watch TV or listen to music in it (though reading before bedtime may be useful).
- Maintain a consistent bedtime.
- Avoid taking naps during the day, but if needed, try to limit them to 20 or 30 minutes.
- Exercise regularly, but not within three hours before bedtime.
- Don’t use caffeine or alcohol late in the day. Alcohol will make a person drowsy at first, but interrupt sleep later on; and caffeine will prevent your loved one from falling asleep.
- Take a warm shower or relaxing bath before bedtime.
- Try to avoid taking sleeping pills if it can be helped. Some can cause dependence on them if used too often.
- Keep the bedroom not to warm, not too cool, but very dark, peaceful and quiet.
- Have a comfortable pillow and mattress, and enough bedding for the season.
If after being in bed for 20 minutes or so, if the person is still wide awake, they should get up and watch some TV, listen to music, read a book, or do something else they find relaxing, then try going back to bed after the begin to feel tired.
If these things don’t help solve the problem, you may want to encourage them to see their doctor to make sure there’s nothing more serious going on, like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, the start of Alzheimer’s disease, which can cause sleep disruptions.
If you or an aging loved one needs caregiver services in Sacramento, CA, remember Senior Home Care Services. Call us at (916) 514-7006 for more information.
Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/good-nights-sleep and www.sleepfoundation.org
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