If your loved one suffers from dementia and they never seem to get a good nights sleep, then realize that sleep problems are very common among dementia sufferers. In fact, an estimated 25 to 50 percent of all dementia sufferers experience sleep problems. Medical professionals believe that some dementia sufferers experience disrupted sleep patterns due to changes in the brain that occur as dementia progresses that affect their circadian rhythms.
While you cannot control how your loved one's brain is changing over time, you can take steps to help them get a better night's sleep. Read on to learn four ways to help your loved one with dementia get a better night's sleep.
1. Rule Out Sleep Apnea
If you find and treat a medical cause of your loved one's sleep problem, you may be able to help your loved one get a better night's sleep while also improving their health. Professionals estimate that as many as 80 percent of all dementia sufferers who reside in long-term care facilities suffer from sleep apnea. This is a breathing disorder that causes a person to wake up as many as 30 times every hour gasping for breath while sleeping due to airway obstruction while sleeping.
To rule out sleep apnea in your loved one with dementia, have a sleep study performed on them.
2. Encourage Activity and Exposure to Bright Light Early in the Day
Both physical activity and exposure to bright early in the day have been proven to help people suffering from dementia get a better night's sleep. You can help your loved one obtain both light exposure and light activity by taking them for a walk in the morning or early afternoon. When your loved one obtains more physical activity during the day, their excess energy is released, and this can help keep them calmer at night. Early morning exposure to bright light can help reset their circadian rhythm.
If you live in an area of the country where it becomes too cold for your loved one to get outside on winter mornings, then consider having them use a light therapy device in the mornings to help reset their circadian rhythm and find fun indoor activities they can participate in on cold days.
3. Speak to Their Doctor About Any Medications That May Interfere with Sleep
If your loved one is taking several medications to help control their dementia symptoms, realize that some medications can affect sleep. If your loved one's sleep disruption began shortly after they started taking a new medication, then that is a clue that the medication may be to blame for their current sleep problems.
You may be surprised when a change in medication timing (such as taking it in the morning instead of the evening), a minor dose reduction, or a switch to a different medication in its class leads to your loved one sleeping much better at night.
4. Ensure You Perform Incontinence Care as Often as Needed
If your loved one is newly incontinent, then you may not know just how often they need incontinence care throughout the night. It is important to perform incontinence care at night to not only help your loved one sleep well (your loved one may not wake up immediately upon soiling their adult undergarment, but the discomfort may wake them up soon after but also to help ward off infections, such as skin and urinary tract infections.
As a general guideline, your loved one's adult undergarment should be checked and changed if needed about every three hours around-the-clock. To help avoid waking your loved one while checking them, turn on only a dim light in the room before checking for urine or stool. If you need to change your loved one, turn on just enough light to perform the task, then quickly turn off the light to help your loved one drift soundly back to sleep.
If you need help with after-hours care for your loved one with dementia who doesn't sleep well at night, reach out to A Visiting Redi Nurse to connect with a
trusted in-home care provider.
