For the third time
tonight, around 4 a.m., your mother calls out that she needs help getting to
the bathroom. You wearily rise and groggily assist her, trying to muster your
last shreds of patience. Tucking her back into bed, you ask yourself if you
should even try to hit the pillow again yourself. You’ll have to be up in a
couple of hours to get ready for work, anyway. Deciding you might as well stay
up, you brew a cup of coffee and contemplate how you’re going to get through
the day on six scant hours of interrupted sleep.
It’s a common scenario
for family caregivers. Maybe you’re familiar with it.
Many health conditions
can prompt seniors to get up during the night. Overactive bladder, Alzheimer’s
disease, chronic pain and insomnia are just a few of the conditions that might
plague seniors and cause them to wake up multiple times every night. And when
they require assistance during these waking episodes, your own sleep becomes
fragmented.
Tips to Make Nighttime
Caregiving Easier
Fortunately, family
caregivers can employ several strategies to make nighttime caregiving easier
and more efficient, potentially minimizing sleep interruption for everyone
involved. Here are some tips to help, based on the reason a senior gets up
during the night.
1. Frequent urination
If a loved one
formerly slept through the night but has begun getting up to use the bathroom
frequently, you might want to consult his or her doctor to make sure the senior
does not have a urinary tract infection or some other treatable condition. Seniors
often do not process pain signals the way younger people do, so they may not
express having discomfort with urination even if they have an infection.
If an infection has
been ruled out and the senior simply needs to empty his or her bladder
frequently at night, then you might streamline the process by adding a portable
bedside commode. These chair-style items make it easy and quick for a senior to
get up, urinate, and climb back into bed. They also enhance safety, since
seniors don’t have to walk a long distance in the dark to reach the toilet.
2. Chronic pain
Aging often brings
with it a host of aches and pains. These nagging complaints can make it
difficult for a senior to get comfortable in bed and sleep through the night.
Once again, a first
step might be to have a chat with your loved one’s doctor, especially for new
complaints of pain. A medical professional may be able to pinpoint the cause of
pain and prescribe medication or make specific suggestions for alleviating the
discomfort in order to make sleeping easier.
However, if the pain
is ongoing, try using pillows, a foam mattress topper or even an adjustable bed
to help the senior find a comfortable sleeping position. Through a process of
trial-and-error, try tucking pillows between the knees, behind the back or
under the head to find out what combination relieves the senior’s discomfort. A
mattress topper may add softness that relieves pressure point pain. And an
adjustable bed, the ultimate sleeping comfort item, might provide general pain
relief.
3. Insomnia
Many people think
insomnia means being wide awake all night, but that’s not the case. Clinically
speaking, insomnia refers to any type of chronically disrupted sleep. This
includes periods of frequent waking.
Insomnia occurs more
frequently in seniors, though researchers aren’t quite sure why. Sometimes
medications can trigger insomnia, so if a senior family member suddenly begins
having trouble sleeping through the night you might want to consult his or her
doctor for an evaluation.
If a senior loved one
wakes frequently, make sure the bedroom contains a comfortable chair and
low-level lights for reading or another non-stimulating activity like knitting
or completing crossword puzzles. Avoid using tablet computers or cell phones
during these episodes because their “blue light” emission is known to inhibit
drowsiness.
If these techniques
don’t work, and a senior family member experiences insomnia that causes you to
sacrifice your own sleep for weeks or months on end, then it might be time to
call in a professional. Home Instead Senior Care®CAREGiversSM can
provide overnight supervision of sleepless seniors so you can get a decent
night’s rest without worrying about your loved one’s safety.
4. Alzheimer’s disease
Many seniors with
Alzheimer’s or a related dementia engage in rummaging behavior during the
night. Some theories suggest rummaging is tied to anxiety, but the behavior
could have any number of triggers. While you may not be able to eliminate this
behavior entirely, you can strive to manage the situation and get the senior
returned to bed by:
·
Removing all dangerous
objects like scissors from the rummaging area.
·
Creating a safe
rummage bag, drawer or even room (like a walk-in closet). The rummage bag
should include the types of item the senior seems to enjoy sorting through.
Often this includes clothing, like socks. Observe the senior’s behavior to get
a sense of what types of objects they like to handle, and include these in the
bag.
·
When the senior
awakens to rummage at night, direct him or her to the designated bag, drawer or
room. Do not disturb the rummaging. Keep lights low.
Nighttime Safety Tips for All
Conditions
No matter why a senior
rises at night, you should consider several general safety practices to avoid a
fall or other accident.
·
Create adequate
low-level lighting. This might mean installing several nightlights, mounting
stick-on LED lights beneath cabinets or even securing rope lights to the floor
or stair steps to illuminate safe walking paths. Be sure rope lights do not
become a trip hazard.
·
Use a baby monitor to
hear a senior moving around at night. Place the monitor in the most strategic
location for your needs. For instance, if you are not concerned about the
senior moving around his or her own bedroom, then you don’t need to put a baby
monitor there. However, if you want to be alerted should the senior enter the
kitchen, then place the monitor there.
·
Consider a bed alarm
if a senior has advanced dementia and wanders. These devices alert you with a
tone if the senior leaves his or her bed.
·
Consider bringing in
outside help. Professional CAREGivers can provide
overnight supervision, toileting assistance and much more. This attentive
oversight can help a senior avoid falling or injuring herself in another way.
You give so much
through caregiving, but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your sleep. Family
caregivers who experience chronic sleeplessness face a higher risk of
developing cardiovascular disease and other medical conditions. By using the
above tips to manage a senior loved one’s waking episodes as efficiently as
possible, you create more robust sleep opportunities for everyone.
