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Tips for Creating a Restful Sleep Environment for Your Aging Loved One

Home Care in Dacula GA

Sleep is critical to ongoing health and well-being for everyone, but it can be challenging for older adults. Whether due to physical challenges and needs, or emotional, mental, or cognitive issues, many senior adults struggle to get enough sleep, and as their family caregiver, you might experience similar struggles, putting both of you at risk of serious health complications. While there are many elements to getting enough sleep, one of the most important is the environment that you create. Where your parent settles down to sleep can make a tremendous difference in how easily your parent falls asleep and the quality of the sleep that they get. You can use the same methods to improve the quality of sleep that you get, helping you to be a better quality of caregiver as well.

 

Use these tips to help you create a restful sleep environment for your aging loved one:

  • Maintain a comfortable temperature. Do not let your parent’s bedroom become too warm when they are sleeping. A cool environment promotes deeper sleep and helps reduce the risk of issues such as headaches. The body naturally begins to cool down as it prepares for sleep, so keeping the room at a comfortably cool temperature aids this process to hasten sleep. Experts recommend keeping a sleeping environment between 60 and 67 degrees.
  • Eliminate electronics. Many people enjoy watching television as they prepare for bed, thinking that it helps them relax, but this can actually make it harder for them to get to sleep. Electronic devices such as televisions, tablets, and handheld games emit light that can confuse the body’s natural sleep system. The release of melatonin starts and speeds up in darkness, and slows and even stops with light. This means that no matter how calm or boring the show your parent is watching, the light the screen is emitting will make it harder for them to calm down and get to sleep.
  • Streamline the room. For many people, the bedroom becomes a sort of catchall. Your parent might bring craft projects, reading material, letters, bills, and other items in the room with them, or end up with pet toys and other clutter around. This overstimulates the brain, making it harder for your loved one to get to sleep. Make sure that the room is associated with sleep by removing clutter and not adding anything that is unconducive to sleep, such as work or creativity.

 

If your senior has recently been diagnosed with a particular health issue, or their symptoms and challenges of their issues have reached a point where you do not feel as though you are able to handle them effectively and efficiently on your own, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting home care for them. An in-home senior care services provider can be with your aging parent on a customized schedule that is right for their individual needs and challenges, as well as their personality, preferences, goals, and the amount of care that you give them. This means that your elderly parent will be able to manage the challenges and symptoms that they are suffering due to their individual health concerns, and stay safe, healthy, comfortable, and happy, as well as maintaining as much independence and activity as possible. The highly personalized services of a home care provider enable your parent to live the highest quality of life possible as they progress through their disease. When it comes to helping them get the sleep that they need to protect their health and well-being, this home care provider can help your parent establish and maintain the environment that is most comfortable for them and that will help them rest well and stay safe and comfortable throughout the night.

 

The staff at Home Care Matters is available to talk with you and your family about all of your needs. Home Care Matters is a home care agency providing quality and affordable home care in Dacula, GA and the surrounding areas. Call (678) 828-2195 for more information.

 

Source:  http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/tips-creating-ideal-sleep-environment

Valerie Darling

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