Does your senior parent struggle to fall asleep at night? Sleep patterns tend to change with age, and seniors tend to awaken more often during the night and earlier in the morning.
There are many reasons that your aging parent may be struggling with sleep. If your senior parent feels sick, suffers from chronic pain, or takes medications with side effects, they may be struggling to fall asleep and receive 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Getting enough sleep helps your senior parent stay healthy and alert. If your aging parent is not getting enough sleep, they may suffer from:
- Irritability
- Memory loss
- Depression
- Increased falls or accidents
SYNERGY HomeCare of Corona, Riverside, and Anaheim Hills in-home caregivers can help your loved one achieve health, independence, and safety. If your aging parent is struggling with sleep problems, call SYNERGY HomeCare of Corona, Riverside, or Anaheim Hills. SYNERGY’s in-home caregivers can help your senior parent follow steps to help them sleep well. SYNERGY’s in-home caregivers can help your senior parent:
- Follow a regular sleep schedule.
- Avoid napping in the late afternoon or evening.
- Develop a bedtime routine.
- Try not to watch television or use their computer, cell phone, or tablet in the bedroom.
- Keep their bedroom at a comfortable temperature.
- Use low lighting in the evenings.
- Exercise earlier in the day.
- Avoid eating large meals close to bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine late in the day.
SYNERGY’s in-home caregivers can also help your senior sleep safely. It’s important that your senior parent:
- Keeps a telephone with emergency numbers next to their bed.
- Has a lamp within reach of their bed.
- Keeps a glass of water next to their bed to avoid hydration.
- Doesn’t smoke in bed.
- Keeps working smoke alarms on each floor of their home.
- Locks all windows and doors before going to bed.
If your senior parent still struggles to sleep well, SYNERGY’s in-home caregivers can help your parent schedule a doctor’s appointment to determine if their sleeping habits are caused by insomnia, sleep apnea, movement disorders, or Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
Sleep apnea. “People with sleep apnea have short pauses in breathing while they are asleep. These pauses may happen many times during the night. If not treated, sleep apnea can lead to other problems, such as high blood pressure, stroke, or memory loss,” according to the National Institute on Aging.
Movement disorders. “Restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder are common in older adults. People with restless legs syndrome, or RLS, feel like there is tingling, crawling, or pins and needles in one or both legs. This feeling is worse at night. Periodic limb movement disorder, or PLMD, causes people to jerk and kick their legs every 20-40 seconds during sleep. Medication, warm baths, exercise, and relaxation exercises can help. Rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep behavior disorder is another condition that may make it harder to get a good night’s sleep. During normal REM sleep, your muscles cannot move, so your body stays still. But, if you have REM sleep behavior disorder, your muscles can move and your sleep is disrupted,” according to the National Institute on Aging.
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia often can change your senior parent’s sleeping habits. Some people with Alzheimer’s disease sleep too much; others don’t sleep enough. Some people wake up many times during the night; others wander or yell at night. SYNERGY’s in-home caregivers can help your senior parent with dementia stay safe at night by:
- Making sure the floor is clear of objects.
- Locking up any medicines.
- Attaching grab bars in the bathroom.
- Placing a gate across the stairs.
SYNERGY HomeCare’s compassionate, skilled, and highly-trained in-home caregivers provide your senior parent with top-notch, quality, and personalized care to meet their needs. SYNERGY’s in-home caregivers provide personal assistance, transportation services, meal preparation, housekeeping, and companionship services.
Personal Assistance
- Standby assistance with morning and evening routines
- Transfer assistance
- Bathing and showering assistance
- Personal Hygiene assistance
- Help with restroom use
- Assistance with dressing
- Personal appearance care
- Incontinence care
Errands and Transportation Services
- Incidental transportation
- Schedule planning and assistance
- Errand services
Meal Planning and Preparation
- Assistance with meal planning
- Mealtime feeding assistance
- Assist with and motivate meal preparation
- Complete meal preparation
Light Housekeeping
- Assistance with light gardening
- Kitchen cleaning and organization
- Bathroom cleaning and organization
- Laundry and ironing
- Changing linens
Companionship Services
- Friendly and supportive conversation
- Plan and encourage social activities
- Encourage light exercise
- Encourage active thinking
About SYNERGY HomeCare of Anaheim Hills
SYNERGY HomeCare of Anaheim Hills is the name you can trust in Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda, Tustin, Santa Ana, Orange and Placentia for personal home care. SYNERGY HomeCare of Anaheim Hills is part of a national franchise of non-medical home care offices dedicated to providing exceptional and affordable service to anyone of any age. SYNERGY HomeCare caregivers are available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to those in need – including seniors, expectant moms, those suffering from sports injuries and debilitating illnesses, and more. SYNERGY HomeCare of Corona & Riverside can be found online at http://www.synergyhomecare.com/agencies/ca/anaheim-hills/ca25 . The location also hosts active social media pages on Facebook and Twitter. Ken and Anna can be reached at 714- 706-1613 and [email protected].
