Sleep, for both you and your Elder, is essential for good health and quality of life. If your Elder does not sleep at night, your lives will quickly become very unpleasant. You will become fatigued, irritable, cranky and feel sick all the time, finding it difficult to concentrate and complete daily tasks. Your Elder may become more confused, delusional and generally become much more difficult to deal with. This can lead to a lack of appetite, and before you know it, your Elder is spiraling down into a pit of poor health and dementia. You don't want this to happen, so what can you do to stop it.
Drugs seem to be the "magic" that will fix this whole scenario if you talk to your Elder's physician. However, an occasional sleep aid might be OK for you, but will have unwanted effects on your Elder---more confusion, more lack of appetite, and most often the Elder will still get up even though sedated with more confusion and tendency to do crazy and unsafe things during the night while no one is watching. You can't take anything because you want to be easily awakened in case your Elder should need you. And if you are one of the really unlucky people caring for an Elder, your situation is that you must be ready to "rescue" your Elder at night because that's when s/he is most confused and unsafe, constantly trying to get out of bed and to the bathroom, at risk for falls and hip fractures, prowling through the house and engaging in unsafe activities, and the most feared: trying to leave the house.
You have to get this situation under control. Otherwise, your and your Elder's days will quickly become UnPleasant. This is how to work on it:
First and foremost, you need to rule out some obvious things that can keep your Elder from sleeping.
---The bed is not comfortable for "old bones". This will make your Elder keep waking up to reposition, and make it hard to fall back to sleep. If you can't purchase a new mattress that is ultra soft but supportive, try a thick foam mattress overlay. You can find these at various department stores, or specialty stores for bedding.
---Chronic pain is the worst at night. Even if your Elder "does alright" during the day, treating the pain at night will result in a sounder sleep. Most Elders, especially those that require assistance to maintain any quality of life will have chronic pain. Start with plain acetaminophen (unless your Elder has liver disease or damage), and consult with the physician if this is not effective.
---Make sure the sleeping environment is quiet and dark. If your Elder needs lighting for safety or feeling secure, provide very dim night lights.
If this does not solve your problem, here are some ideas to work on.
1. Establish and maintain a regular daily routine. This includes a regular bedtime routine as well. Your Elder should arise and go to bed at the same times every day. Make sure the routine allows for at least an hour of relaxing in dim light prior to going to bed.
2. The daily routine should also include some exercise to tolerance, even if this is just walking. The more energy you Elder uses during the day, the better sleep will be at night.
3. Avoid caffeine after noon. And avoid alcohol after 4pm. Contrary to popular belief (especially in Elders, who back in "the day" used alcohol for its "medicinal properties"), alcohol does not make you sleep better. It will make you drowsy so you fall asleep quicker, but in a few hours when the initial sedative effects wear off, you are wide awake and unable to get back to sleep. Also, if your Elder finds sugar and chocolate stimulating, avoid these several hours before bed as well.
4. Avoid large meals several hours before bedtime. Its best for Elders to have the large meal at midday, and a lighter meal in the evening. A light snack including some milk and carbohydrate at bedtime is more conducive to a good night's sleep.
5. Try to establish what your Elder will do when s/he can't sleep. Think of something safe and relaxing. A comfy chair in the bedroom (keeping it out of the walkway to the bathroom) might be nice with a dim reading lamp alongside, with some books for reading that is soothing and calming when unable to sleep. Or, even one of those "coffee table books" with lots of pictures that inspire peaceful and happy thoughts. Sitting up to watch T.V. is another option.
6. If a noisy environment is a problem, try some "white noise" to block out unwanted sounds. Some people who have ringing of the ears use this to relax. There are different types of white noise, like ocean waves, whale song, wind through trees, etc. Or, your Elder might enjoy music instead. There are many stations that offer the "oldies, but goodies" type of tunes so you can find music from the right era. Most people get pleasant thoughts from music they enjoyed during their young adult life.
7. Encourage a hot bath before going to bed, to soak away the day's troubles and some of those muscle and joint aches. Try some aromatherapy with the bath---a small amount of lavendar essential oil can be very calming.
8. The day should include some time outside in bright, natural sunlight.
9. Melatonin is a natural sleep aid that has few side effects, and does not interact with other medications. It is a hormone that is found naturally in the body, that regulates the wake/sleep cycle and other daily biorhythms. As we age, our levels of melatonin can decrease, making the normal rhythm of the day more problematic to maintain. A dose of 2 to 3mg at bedtime may work to promote sleep. Use a much lower dose if you are taking it every night, or if this amount causes too much grogginess in the morning.
10. Many Elders become uneasy at night for a variety of reasons. Providing a dim night light can make trips to the bathroom easier, as well as providing some reassurance when the elder awakens during the night by being able to orient themselves. Another cause of worry is that s/he may need assistance and will be unable to tell you. You can easily remedy this, and put her/his fears to rest by providing a wireless "door bell" that you can get inexpensively at a hardware store (or places like Walmart). You give your Elder the button to push; and you keep the bell. This works for most distances between bedrooms in the same house. The biggest problem is making sure you have enough batteries for both the button and the bell. This will give you both enough reassurance to get some rest at night.
Heres to many peaceful and restful nights, so that you and your Elder can have more Pleasant Days.
(to acknowledge photographer for image in this post, click here)
No comments:
Post a Comment