Christmas, dementia and sleep
Sleep is important whether you have dementia or not
Exercise and having daylight light at the right time of the day will aid sleep
Take proper care of your sleep for yourself and your loved one
Silent night, one of the best Christmas carols. All is calm the song says…. Sleep in heavenly peace.
If you are a carer for someone with dementia, sleep can suffer.
Having a good sleep is vital for the person you are caring for.
But you yourself will not be able to care if you’re not given the chance to have a full night’s sleep. We all know that sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture, and sometimes older people will torture us unintentionally. Older people need less sleep and people with dementia sleep even more lightly.
Exercise is a very good way of making someone tired and insuring good healthy sleep.
Even if it is hard to get out and about, exercises in the chair can help. The internet has many YouTube videos if you search under “Chair exercises for seniors”. This is where you must ask friends for help again because boredom, which leads to the person snoozing all day and being awake all night, can be relieved by having interesting things to do during the day. Friends may take the person out or keep them busy in the house for an hour or two.
Have a bedtime routine. It will be different for each person but might involve a warm bath, and winding down by putting off exciting television programmes, and reducing the light level. If the person likes listening to the radio press the snooze button so that it turns off after a while. Research shows that people sleep better in a warm comfortable bed in a cooler room. Darkness is important for sleep. Even moonlight can be disturbing so blackout blinds or curtains help. If a nightlight is needed to mark the path to the toilet in the night, you can find a movement sensor activated light, that will switch on when the person is getting out of bed.
If they are not sleeping, neither will you.
Older people often have conditions that cause aches and pains for which they may be prescribed some pills. It is good to time that pain relief for bedtime so that the person isn’t kept awake by their discomfort.
A doctor may offer a sedative if you are completely exhausted, and the person is inclined to wake up agitated at night. This might help in the short term but can cause almost as many problems as it solves, because the person may not be completely awake in the day, and snooze, so they are not tired when it is time to go to bed again. It might also make them unsteady on their feet.
Dreaming of a White Christmas
At this time of year, you may be driven to a frenzy of preparation for visitors coming and things to do before the end of the year. Take time to sleep well, and to help the person that you care for to sleep well, so that you really can have as many silent nights as possible. Possibly dreaming of a White Christmas.
Find more of my blogs about sleep here
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here
