Skip to main content

Alzheimer’s Disease and Sleeping Issues

Caring for someone who has Alzheimer’s disease can be tough. They experience all sorts of issues including sleeping issues. Many people who have this disease have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. There are many reasons for this that you and their caregivers should be aware of.

Trouble Sleeping

Your elderly loved one might have trouble sleeping. If you have noticed they have had changes in the way that they fall asleep or stay asleep, it is time to find out what the issue might be. The first thing to note is that this disease, alone, can cause people to have trouble sleeping. There is something in their brain that causes sleep disruptions. It could be they are feeling restless or anxious before going to bed. Whatever the issue might be, these troubles sleeping should be addressed.

You should pay attention to how your loved one is behaving. Pay attention to how they are acting before bedtime. If they seem anxious about something, find a solution for their anxiety. You should also be sure that your loved one gets ready for bed 15 – 30 minutes before their bedtime. This way they can get laid down and situated before it is time to fall asleep.

Sundowning Syndrome

Sundowning is when your elderly loved one displays negative behaviors around sundown and through the night. Sometimes there are medications that the doctor will prescribe to help manage the sundowning symptoms.

You should also make sure your loved one’s sleeping environment is as comfortable as possible. Increasing the activities they do during the day can help to tire them out for nighttime, as well. Lastly, you and your loved one’s caregivers should make sure they don’t have electronics during the evening or nighttime.

Hallucinations

Your loved one might also experience hallucinations that make it difficult for them to fall asleep. They may see things in their bedroom that make them scared to fall asleep. It might seem as if the shadows are strangers in their house. This can be very frightening for your elderly loved one.

If your loved one is experiencing hallucinations, the first thing to do is make sure they talk to their doctor about it. In addition, you should make sure the corners of their rooms are lit. This will prevent them from seeing things in the dark. You should also make sure there aren’t any noises that could be deemed as scary throughout the home at nighttime.

These are some of the sleeping issues that your elderly loved one might have with Alzheimer’s disease. Be sure you and their caregivers do your best to understand what they are going through and help them in any way that you can.

Sources
https://ift.tt/2lxNBbz
https://ift.tt/2vMN5WG

When you are in need of care for a senior loved one, consider caregivers provided by Golden Heart Senior Care. We have offices nationwide. For more information, call us today at (800) 601-2792.

The post Alzheimer’s Disease and Sleeping Issues appeared first on Golden Heart Senior Care.



from Golden Heart Senior Care https://ift.tt/2tIF4pP
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sleep in the Elderly: What is Normal?

If you are a caregiver for a senior, or even just have elderly people in your life, you may wonder about their sleeping habits. It sometimes seems that the elderly don’t need as much sleep as the average person. You may feel like the elderly in your life are sleeping a lot, or sleeping too much during the day. Unfortunately when it comes to sleep in the elderly, what is normal may not necessarily be what is healthy. Excessive sleep or daytime sleeping in the elderly are all related to sleep disorders and can be helped. How Many Hours of Sleep Does an Elderly Person Need? A pervading myth related to sleep claims that elderly adults need less sleep than the average adult. It’s not quite clear how this myth began. Perhaps because elderly adults tend to nap in the afternoons and sleep less during the night. Perhaps because the elderly tend to wake up earlier in the morning, it appears they do not need to sleep as much. Whatever the reason, it remains a myth. From the mid-’20s onward, do...
1 comment
Read more

Dads and Pops: Your Good Health Matters to Us 

Did you know  June is  Men’s Health Month  and Father’s Day anchors Men’s Health Week ?   Celebrate dad on Father’s Day and thank him for all he  has  done, but  also  make sure to seize an opportunity sometime this month to have a conversation with him about his health. This awareness campaign has the critical purpose of informing men   that avoiding preventive healthcare puts them at real and serious risk of  contracting a disease or  acquiring  a chronic condition.   Studies consistently  show the numbers go against men , particularly as they advance into their senior years.   Even with dramatic advances in diagnosis and treatment over the past 100 years, men’s life expectancy still lags significantly behind women. According to  Harvard Health ,  the gap is widening. In 1900, the life expectancy for women was 48.3 years vs. 46.3 for men. In 2017, it was 81.1 years for women vs. 76.1 for men. Harvard...
Post a Comment
Read more

Film Screening at Samvedna Senior Care

On 30th September, 2019, Samvedna Senior Care Foundation hosted the 2nd film festival of generations in association with Heidelberg University, Germany. The film Sputnik Moment – 30 years and beyond was screened at our senior citizen centre in Gurgaon for our members and staff. The film highlighted how senior citizens in Germany and the US were taking up second careers to fill their time, engage meaningfully and also get support through additional income. Post the screening Dr. Martin Gieselmann, Executive Secretary, SAI, Heidelberg University and Dr. Constanze, Coordinator DAAD Project, Heidelberg University along with our team engaged with the audience in an interesting discussion on the Indian scenario. Members shared that in India it is not easy for senior citizens to pick up jobs after retirement, however it was interesting to see that many in the audience did have jobs post retirement. They also spoke about stereotypes and social attitudes towards ageing and shared their per...
Post a Comment
Read more