Healthy sleep patterns are an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and while most think sleep comes easy, for some elderly individuals, sleep doesn’t always come easy. If your loved one struggles with getting a good night’s sleep, she might need to develop some new strategies to help her sleep well each night with the assistance of companion care at home services.
Why Sleep is Sometimes Difficult for the Elderly
While there can be many physical, emotional, and mental health issues that can make sleep more difficult as a person ages, there are also some natural changes in the body that can contribute to poor sleep. As a person ages, their body creates less growth hormone, which, in turn, reduces the amount of deep sleep (the time of sleep when the most refreshing part of the cycle occurs). Less melatonin is created, and sleep becomes fragmented with more occurrences of waking from sleep.
Medications, chronic pain, anxiety, and other concerns can also deeply affect how well your loved one sleeps. When sleep is disturbed because of other conditions, it helps to treat those issues with the hope that better sleep will follow, but if your loved one simply doesn’t sleep well anymore, there are some steps she can take, including getting companion care at home.
Six Strategies to Improve Sleep
1. Review Daily Food Choices
Food can affect how well a person sleeps. To help your loved one sleep better, adjust her meals so her lunch meal is the larger one of the day and her dinner meal is a lighter meal. It can also help to reduce the spiciness of foods offered, especially at the later meal of the day.
2. Limit Caffeine and Alcohol
Both caffeine and alcohol can disrupt sleep, so limiting them, especially in the evening hours, is important for your loved one to sleep better. As a person ages, it takes longer for the body to process both alcohol and caffeine, so both will stay in the system longer.
3. Increase Daytime Activity
Being physically active during the day can help your loved one sleep better at night. Aerobic activity releases chemicals that lead to more restful sleep.
4. Eliminate Naps
Napping can seem like a great way to make up for lost sleep, but it creates a cycle where the body’s sleep rhythms are thrown off. Short naps of less than 30 minutes early in the day are usually okay, but your loved one should avoid anything longer.
5. Create a Better Sleep Environment
What makes the best sleep environment for your loved one depends upon her. Work with light and noise levels as well as temperature levels to determine what helps her sleep best.
6. Turn Off All Screens
At least an hour before bed, she should set aside all phones and laptops as well as turn off the TV so her body can tune into sleep.
For Daytime Stimulation, Consider Some Companion Care at Home
Since many of those strategies to sleep better require action to be taken during the day, consider offering your loved one some help with a companion care at home provider. A provider who offers companion care at home can help your loved one get the mental stimulation and physical exertion she needs during the day to help her sleep better at night.
With companion care at home, your loved one will know someone will be there to help motivate her and encourage her.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Companion Care at Home in San Francisco, CA, please contact the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care today at (415) 463-1400
Aviva In-Home Care provides exceptional senior home care in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Hillsborough, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Berkeley, Lafayette, Orinda, and surrounding areas.
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