Lots of people, including seniors, experience periodic episodes of insomnia. Your elderly family member might be having more trouble with sleep than she ever has, and it can be for some of these reasons. Follow these tips to ensure better senior health.

Stress and Other Emotional Issues

Emotional difficulties, like anxiety and stress, can cause serious problems when your elderly family member is trying to get the rest that she needs. She may be ruminating or thinking repetitively about the things that are upsetting her, and that can cause her brain to have difficulty shutting down even for a little while.

Health Issues

Health problems can make sleeping difficult, too. If your elderly family member’s blood pressure is too high all the time, for instance, that can make sleeping impossible. Sometimes medication side effects can be the culprit, too. They can help to control your senior’s health issue but have an impact on her ability to sleep.

Overactive Bladder and Incontinence

Another potential problem can involve your senior’s bladder. If she’s having issues with an overactive bladder or with incontinence, she may find that having to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom is interfering with sleep on a regular basis. Modifying when she stops fluid for the night can help, but she may also need to talk to her doctor.

Dietary Choices

Some of the foods that your senior eats might contribute to sleep problems, too. Things like coffee and other foods and drinks that contain caffeine can have more of an impact on your senior’s ability to sleep than she might realize. Also, eating too late in the day could keep her awake longer than she wants. Keeping a food diary can help and that may be easier to do with the help of 24-hour home care providers.

Poor Sleep Hygiene

Generally having poor habits around sleep can also harm your senior’s ability to get the rest she wants. If she’s getting up later and later and taking long naps she may be contributing to the problem. 24-hour home care providers can help her to get on a better daily schedule without being bossy about it. Elder care providers can also help your senior with resting when it makes sense for her to do so.

It’s never more obvious how important sleep is until someone is not getting the sleep that they need. Remember to talk to your senior’s doctor about her sleep issues, especially if small changes aren’t seeming to help to ensure good senior health.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Homecare in Orinda, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care.
Call today: (415) 795-2203

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Evan Loevner

CEO at Aviva In-Home Care

As a former hospital administrator, I launched Aviva with the goal of having a more focused, direct impact on the delivery of care than I could ever accomplish within a hospital setting. For me, the joy of running an organization like Aviva In-Home Care is having the ability to positively improve the lives of individuals needing customized care. As a passionate Bay Area resident, I know that many local seniors can benefit from new approaches to in-home care, that will bring them more connection to the community, and provide families with a greater sense of comfort that their loved one is indeed matched with an ideal caregiver.

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