Top Tips to Help Your Elderly Loved One Get Quality Sleep

If your elderly loved one is facing issues with getting quality sleep most nights, remind them that they aren’t alone. They might just need to make some changes to their lifestyle or their habits, so they can sleep better. Keep reading here for the top tips to help your elderly loved one get quality sleep. Keep in mind it might take some time for these tips to work, and you can rely on an elderly care provider to assist with these changes to their routine.

Turn Off the Electronics Before Bed

Your elderly loved one should be turning off electronics 1 hour before they get into bed every night. This will include their computers, cellphone, and television. The screen from electronics glows and can make it difficult for your elderly loved one to go to sleep. Even the glow from digital clocks in a bedroom can make it tough for some people to fall asleep. You or an elderly care provider might have to go to town and get your loved one a clock that doesn’t have as much of a glow.

Take Fewer or Shorter Naps

How many naps is your elderly loved one currently taking every day? How long are the naps that they are taking? If your elderly loved one is sleeping too much during the day, this is going to affect the amount and the quality of sleep they get at nighttime. If they feel the need to take a nap in the daytime, be sure it isn’t too late in the day. They should also make sure their naps are 30 minutes or less. If needed, they can have you or an elderly care provider wake them up, so they don’t sleep too long.

Stay on a Sleep Schedule

Your elderly loved one needs to stay on a sleep schedule if they are going to get quality sleep. If their sleep schedule is erratic, their body and brain aren’t going to know when to fall asleep and when to wake up. This might cause them to fall asleep at 8 p.m. one night and 11 p.m. the next night. It might also cause them to wake up numerous times throughout the night. This isn’t considered quality sleep. You can talk to your elderly loved one and help them set up a better sleep schedule.

Conclusion

These are some of the top tips to help your elderly loved one to get quality sleep. With these tips, hopefully, your elderly loved one will be able to get back into a good sleep schedule and start getting quality sleep again.

Sources
https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/sleep_hygiene.html