Sleeping beauty: Helping elders with dementia get quality sleep at night

Sleeping beauty: Helping elders with dementia get quality sleep at night

People with dementia may sometimes find it difficult to enjoy a restful sleep on a regular basis. This is often one of the most frustrating parts of providing in-home care for elder people with dementia, particularly for family users who are still adjusting to a new role thrust to them.

“Many older adults have problems sleeping, but people with dementia often have an even harder time. Sleep disturbance may affect up to 25% of people with mild to moderate dementia and 50% of people with severe dementia. Sleep disturbances tend to get worse as dementia progresses in severity,” a Mayo Clinic feature writes.

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There are a variety of factors that contribute to elder people with dementia having experiencing difficulty getting good, quality sleep at night. These include:

• Brain changes resulting to a disrupted ‘body clock’;

• Breathing disorders, like sleep apnea;

• Light changes in the sleeping area that result to a feeling of confusion and fear;

• Certain degrees of pain due to other related conditions;

• Depression.

Here are a couple of ways you can do to ease them into getting a good, quality sleep during nighttime.

Seek immediate medical help

Visit a doctor to check any lingering disorder that may be burdening your elder loved one.

It could be joint pains due to arthritis, sleep apnea, or other prior disorders that have been causing extended problems for quite some time already. Solving one or two of these problems may help them to start getting quality rest at night.

Create a sleep sanctuary

Make sure that the place where they are sleeping is comfortable enough for them to rest in. Reuser the three most important things to consider in an ideal sleeping den: dark, silent, and cool.

Help them get moving during daytime

If they can, encourage them to exercise during the day.

A short walk to the bakery or the nearby café, or a few minutes outside to visit a friend a few blocks from your house will do. Getting some sun on a regular basis will help correct their body clock, which will in turn have a positive effect on their sleeping pattern.

Make sure they get enough water

Dehydration may cause a variety of other problems for elders with dementia.

Among the most common issues include urinary tract infections (UTI) that lead to feelings of discomfort and eventually, confusion. Encourage them to get the recommended fluid consumption between morning and early afternoon, so they won’t be bothered to get up for frequent trips to the bathroom at night.

Keep them company

If they wake up startled in the middle of the night, chances are they might be feeling uneasy or uncomfortable.

It doesn’t hurt to make an effort to make them smile. Find ways to inject humor into your conversations. This can help forge a closer, more positive connection with your loved one.

The best way to deal with it? Stay with them and talk to them in a gentle and comforting manner. You don’t have to turn on the room light in full; a dim, relaxing glow is enough to keep them in a sleeping mood. You can try talking to them and ask how they are feeling, then try to get them back to bed by playing soothing music.

Providing in-home care to people with dementia can truly be a handful, particularly to families who have yet to get any formal orientation on what to expect. Disruption in sleeping patterns certainly adds up to the number of things that need to be addressed right away.

No need to worry so much about these things. You can always ask for help at any time you choose. Let our Memory Care Specialists help you ease into comfort with this life-altering change.

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How to make feeding time pleasant for elders with dementia