According to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine insomnia is very common among seniors. In fact, doctors estimate that at least 48% of seniors struggle with insomnia. There can be many things that cause insomnia in seniors like the medications that they take, stress, depression, pain, or loneliness. Seniors often get anxious at night because they are alone and they may feel lonely, vulnerable, or scared. This is very common in seniors who have lost their spouses and are not used to being alone at night. But there are some things that you and your home care provider can do to help a senior parent with insomnia like:
Get 24-Hour Home Care For Your Senior Parent
One of the best ways to help a senior with insomnia is to arrange for 24-hour home care for them. 24-hour home care means that your senior loved one will never be alone. They won’t feel the dread, anxiety, or depression that they are currently experiencing as a result of being alone at night if a care provider is with them. When a 24-hour home care provider is with them at night they will have someone to talk to, someone to make them feel safe enough to relax, and someone to watch out for them while they sleep. If you can’t be there around the clock arranging for 24 hour care to make sure someone else will be can be a huge help for seniors.
Call At Bedtime
Another way that you can help a senior parent with insomnia is to call them every night at bedtime. A quick conversation is all it takes to make them feel socially connected and feel like someone cares. You may want to say prayers together, watch a particular show on the phone, or talk about sports or something that you have in common. It doesn’t matter what the routine is. What matter is that you’re calling and checking on them so they feel safe and connected to you.
Set Up Security Cameras
Security cameras with motion-activated lights outside the house will help your senior loved one feel safer inside the house. But you should also put cameras inside the house that are linked to your smartphone. That way you can visually check on your senior loved one at night. If they have a medical emergency or if they fall and can’t get up you will be able to see it on the cameras to come to help them. Knowing that you can see them and are checking on them can give seniors enough peace of mind that they can sleep peacefully.
Help Them Create A Wind Down Routine At Night
A dedicated winding down routine can help seniors get ready to sleep. A nighttime routine might mean a hot bath or a shower, or it might mean meditating for ten minutes or even watching a particular show in bed. Whatever the ritual is it should be something that your senior loved one finds soothing.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering 24-Hour Home Care in Douglas, GA, please contact the caring staff at South GA Family Care today. 229-299-8766
Source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5991956/