Sleep hygiene is another term for the habits and routines around sleep. Everyone should be following good sleep hygiene, particularly your senior. If your elderly family member isn’t having the experience with sleep that she really needs to have, she might be fatigued, irritated, or feeling as if her health is worsening.
Reduce Activities Before Bed that Make Sleep Difficult
The brain is a complicated organ and there are some activities that make sleeping much more difficult if they occur too close to bedtime for your senior. Some of them, like exercising too late or using screens that emit blue light, are obvious. Others might not be as obvious, like napping too late in the day. Spotting these is easier if your elderly family member keeps a sleep journal or if she has help from senior home care to track her activities during the day.
Try Activities Before Bed that Might Support Sleep
Senior Home Care in South Pasadena FL
There are plenty of other activities that can help to make sleep easier if your senior tries them before bed. That old standby of warm milk really does work for some people. Something else that can help is a soak in a warm tub or a session of journaling. If stress is a big factor for your senior, unloading her worries into a journal before bed can help her mind to let go of troublesome thoughts.
Follow a Set Sleep Schedule
One extremely common and easy to fix issue is not having a sleep schedule. If your senior is staying up late and getting up at random times the next day, she may find that it’s harder to get the sleep she needs. Adjusting to a new and consistent sleep schedule is a lot easier with help from senior home care during the day. It also works really quickly for your senior, assuming there aren’t other underlying causes of poor sleep.
Make Sure Food and Drink Choices Support Sleep
What your senior eats and drinks, as well as when she does so, could also have a lot to do with sleep issues. Part of your elderly family member’s sleep journal might include some information about what she’s eating and drinking and the timing of each. This can help you to catch small problems that are easy to adjust, especially with help from senior home care.
Check the Sleeping Environment
How’s your senior’s bedroom for sleeping? If it’s too bright at night or if the temperature is off by just enough, sleep might be tough for her to come by. Taking an inventory of what’s working and what isn’t working can help you to spot the problems that are interfering with your senior’s ability to get enough sleep.
If everything else is perfect but your aging family member is still having trouble sleeping, the issue might be a medical one. Talk to her doctor about what she’s experiencing and see if there are medical answers to her problem so that she can get the rest she needs.
If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Senior Home Care in South Pasadena, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.
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Becky Moultrie is Owner and Administrator of Assisting Hands Home Care Serving Pinellas. Guided by a motto to Do Good with Love, she’s well positioned to do just that at Assisting Hands. She has a passion for helping families keep seniors and those who are diabled happy and healthy at home. She serves on a number of boards in Pinellas County including the Pinellas Park Gateway Chamber and Better Living Seniors (BLS), leading the Membership Committee. Annually, she hosts a Silver Santa Party, collecting donations for nearly 100 low income seniors in the county. She attends Blessed Sacrament Church, Seminole where she is an Ascribed Member of the Rosminian Order. When not busy Doing Good in the community, Becky is at home with her husband David & their 4 children, tending to their beehives and digging in the garden.
