Waking up in the middle of the night is irritating, but it’s also a form of insomnia. If your elderly family member is waking up a lot in the middle of the night, there might be some big reasons for that. Helping her to get back to sleeping all night long is important and there are some things you can try.
If Worrying Is an Issue, Work Around It
One reason that people tend to wake up in the middle of the night is that worries nudge at them via their subconscious. Your elderly family member might not say that she’s got a lot to worry about, but there are little things that could be bugging her. Worries about her health, worries about your health, and just pondering what might happen down the road can all be big concerns for her. Let your senior know that she can talk to you or to anyone else about what’s bothering her during the day so that those concerns don’t waylay her at night.
She Can’t Just Make it Happen
Some people believe that they can just make sleep happen. Especially if they fell asleep relatively easily earlier in the evening, it might feel like a failure of some sort to not just make sleep happen. If your elderly family member is laying in bed trying to make herself get back to sleep, encourage her to give herself a time limit. For instance, if she’s still awake half an hour later, she’ll try something else.
Try a Completely Different Activity
When sleep just won’t come, trying a completely different activity can help. There’s a catch with this, though. Your senior doesn’t need to be doing anything highly active or that involves bright lighting, caffeine, or anything that is likely to keep her awake. Reading can be a good idea, especially if your senior uses a blue light blocking screen or reads an actual book or magazine. Making a “sleepy” drink, like warm milk or chamomile tea, can be a soothing activity that helps to lull her back to a sleepy state.
Go with Rest if She Still Can’t Sleep
Every once in a while, nothing might seem to help. What you can do instead is to stop chasing sleep and encourage your elderly family member to rest. Even if she lays in bed with her eyes closed and her favorite blanket, that can help her to feel a little more rested than getting up and being active too early in the day. Every little bit of rest can help quite a bit.
Having regular daily routines can help your elderly family member to get the sleep that she needs. Elder care providers can be an excellent way to help you’re senior to establish and to stick to strong daily routines.
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 Services in Lawrenceville, GA, and surrounding areas. Call (678) 828-2195 for more information.
Valerie has the unique experience with home care as she has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum, as a caregiver and as needing care herself as a cancer survivor. Valerie says, “Taking care of someone you love is a physically, mentally and demanding labor of love.Taking care of my mom was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has given me an insight and perspective not many people understand unless you are doing it or have done it.I loved taking care of my mom.I love helping others take care of their love ones too.And now that I’ve been sick, it’s given me a whole new level of empathy and understanding for those who are sick and need help.”
Valerie’s schedule varies daily, but she loves visiting with our clients, families, caregivers, our network partners and being in the office.Says Valerie, “Every day is different, but I wake up excited about what we do, inspired by our team, clients and caregivers.I strive to be a resource to the community.I love my team and I love what we do every day. I like to think my mom would be proud.”
You can reach Valerie by email (Valerie@homecarematters.com) or in our office (770.965.4004).
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