What Should Your Senior Do to Break the Chain of Insomnia?
Dealing with insomnia is truly a battle, especially if your elderly family member has always been able to sleep well in the past. Some of these tricks and tips can help her to get the sleep she needs at night so that she can enjoy every day.
Elderly Care Philadelphia PA – What Should Your Senior Do to Break the Chain of Insomnia?
Pay Attention to When She’s Drinking Caffeine
Caffeine is more influential on some people than others, but a general rule of thumb is that it’s a good idea to start limiting caffeine intake after early afternoon. For some aging adults, sugar can offer just as large a boost as caffeine does and can contribute to sleep troubles, so you might want to consider starting a food diary.
Avoid Eating Heavy Meals Close to Bedtime
Lots of food later in the day means that your elderly family member has to expend a lot of energy digesting that food. It can also leave her feeling uncomfortable, which is never a good way to try to get to sleep. Consider keeping dinners light and talk about serving them earlier in the evening to help get around this issue.
Be Careful about Naps
Naps can be really helpful if your senior is having trouble sleeping at night, but be careful with them. Naps that are too long can actually contribute to problems with nighttime sleeping. Also, naps that happen too late in the day, even if they’re relatively short, can mess with your senior’s sleep patterns.
Restrict the Bed for Sleeping
If your elder likes to watch television, read, and do other activities during the day while she’s relaxing in her bed, she might be sending a message to her brain. That message is that the bed is a place to do more active things, even if they’re just keeping her brain active. Restricting the bed to sleeping only helps to reinforce for your senior’s brain that the bed is just for sleeping.
Start Exercising Earlier in the Day
Exercise, as long as your senior’s doctor has said it’s okay, is a perfect way to help her to get active and to sleep better at night. You’ll want to schedule exercise for earlier in the day so that it doesn’t interfere with her bedtime routine at all. She might even notice that she has more energy during the day when she exercises.
Once you and your elderly family member figure out the right formula for her, make sure that you do everything that you can do to stick with it. Letting family members and elderly care providers know what to help with and what to expect can help so very much.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care Services in Philadelphia PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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