Seven Tips to Help Your Parent Sleep Better
Home Care Assistance in Bala Cynwyd
Your aging loved one may have talked to you or his home care assistance team about his inability to get a good night’s sleep. Or perhaps you’ve noticed him getting up often in the night or struggling to fall asleep. Sleep patterns tend to change as a person ages. It’s not uncommon to either struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. Sometimes both can be a problem.
Once an older person falls asleep, there are other factors that affect his night’s sleep. Age often causes a person to sleep less, and then less of that time is spent in deep, dreamless sleep. Elderly people often wake 3-4 times a night, whether it’s to use the bathroom, because of aches and pains, or anxiety. Because older people sleep more lightly, they may feel more tired throughout the day.
A consistent lack of good sleep can cause daily confusion, depression, and other health issues. Your loved one may find he’s more short-tempered with the caregivers in his life, or he won’t work with his home care assistance provider to do the exercises he should.
While sleep medications can sometimes help, they aren’t usually recommended for the long term. So finding some homeopathic ways to help your loved one get the sleep he needs is crucial to good health. Here are 7 tips he can try.
- Stop taking naps. If your parent is feeling sleep deprived, he may want a nap. However, too much napping might be what’s making him struggle to fall asleep each night. It creates a pattern that’s hard to break. If there is a specific time of the day when your parent generally feels he’d like a nap (such as a few hours after lunch), schedule a walk with his home care assistance provider to prevent him from falling asleep on the couch.
- Don’t use the bed for daily activities. If your parent likes to watch TV, he should do that from another area of the home. His brain needs to associate the bed with sleeping only.
- Avoid stimulants before bedtime. If your loved one is an avid coffee drinker, switching to decaf and staying away from any caffeinated drinks at least 4 hours before bed might help him sleep.
- Exercise, but not at bedtime. Regular exercise will help your parent sleep better at night, but encourage him to do it during the day, not the evening.
- Drink some milk. It’s true, a glass of milk before bed can help a person sleep. Milk contains a natural, sedative-like amino acid.
- Avoid too much stimulation before bedtime, especially violent shows or video games. Watching or reading something calm is more likely to help your parent fall asleep better.
- Create a bedtime routine. Going to bed at the same time each night, and performing the same rituals, alerts a person’s body that it’s time to sleep. So activities like washing the face, brushing his teeth, performing meditation/prayers, and reading before actually tucking in for the evening help the body relax and sleep.
With some consistent intentional steps, your loved one should be sleeping better soon.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Assistance in Bala Cynwyd, PA, and the surrounding area, please contact the friendly staff at Suma Home Care. (484) 206-4544
Ibrahim recently completed a Professional Certificate in Management; He is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administrations (MBA) at a prestigious university in the UK.
With their passion for helping others and a strong background in customer services and clinical care, Ibrahim and his wife started assisting individuals in their homes.
Since started and operating Suma Home Care in 2010 in the basement of their home, Suma Home Care has provided professionals who work endlessly in providing clients with the highest quality of care, while enabling clients to maintain dignity, comfort and safety in their homes.
Suma Home Care, serves four counties in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia. Ibrahim is firmly connected to his local community and is always looking for ways to give back whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Ibrahim enjoys spending time with his wife and children, travelling and enjoys sports.
Mariama Suma-Keita BSN RN
Born in Sierra Leone west Africa, relocated to America in 1999 from a civil war and settled since in the U.S.A as a Naturalized citizen Graduated from National school of nursing with an associate , and completed BSN in Nursing from Immaculata University graduated with Honor roll Alpha Lambda sigma, After escaping the war served as a refugee nurse in Gambia and Guinea to other displaced refugees before coming to America.
In the states started in Homecare then then transition into hospital, worked in Jefferson hospital as a Registered nurse on Tele and general medsurg floor, also worked in Einstein hospital as an oncology transplant nurse , I realized that I enjoy working with patients so much and believe in quality and compassionate care one at a time dealing with an holistic approach in caring for patients and family in a familiar environment called home , I see the impact and progress when they’re home , it makes them feel relax and progress fast with recovering at home. As a nurse and entrepreneur I understand that dedication to meeting people and families needs is a priority, and able to foster relationships with family and patients that is professional and friendly to help them stay and settled home as a desire.
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