Handling Sleep Challenges in Seniors

Sleep habits change as we get older, and some individuals may struggle to get adequate rest as a result. According to experts, about 30 percent of older adults suffer from insomnia or a form of it. Additionally, our senior loved ones are at higher risk of developing medical issues including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular complications and psychiatric conditions when they don’t get proper rest.

So, how does sleep loss happen and what can be done about it?

There are a variety of reasons why our senior loved ones may deal with sleep challenges. Fortunately, many of these causes can be corrected with simple behavior modifications.

Top reasons for and potential solutions to sleep challenges in people 65 and over:

• Cause: A lot of people can’t wait until the day they retire so they can throw away their alarm clock and live their life on their own schedule. The issue with this is staying up late and sleeping late can wreak havoc on our internal clocks. If your body gets used to staying up until 2a.m. and waking up at noon, it’s tough to get back into a healthy routine. For example, you may have an early morning event and need to go to bed early. But, while you know you need to get to sleep earlier, your body isn’t prepared to do so. And when we get frustrated by the situation as we lie in bed awake, it just makes it less likely we’ll relax and doze off!
• Solution: Even though they don’t have to wake up with the sun anymore to head off to work, encourage your senior loved one to keep a reasonable schedule to make their sleep pattern consistent. Instead of setting the clock for 6 a.m., try setting it for 8 a.m. and create a habit of exercising or enjoying a good breakfast.

• Cause: Many over-the-counter or prescription medications can cause insomnia and other sleep challenges if you’re not careful about what you’re taking.
• Solution: Check the prescription labels to see if sleeplessness is a side effect of Mom or Dad’s medication. If you’re still in doubt, check with their doctor to review what they’re consuming. If the drug they’re taking can’t be eliminated from their daily routine, maybe something else can be recommended or prescribed that won’t cause your senior loved one to miss their much-needed sleep.

• Cause: Is your senior loved one the sort that likes to scroll through social media or read on their tablet in bed? While virtually paging through a novel might be a good way to ready your mind for lights out, scrolling on their smart phone, tablet or laptop might be having just the opposite effect. Blue light from electronic screens blocks melatonin production and can keep Mom or Dad from being able to sleep.
• Solution: Experts recommend putting away the electronics at least an hour before they want to go to sleep, but ideally they ought to shut down their devices three or four hours beforehand. If they don’t want to log out before bedtime, check into getting them a pair of reading glasses that block blue light. And some devices, including the Kindle Fire tablet, have a setting to filter out the disruptive blue hues.

• Cause: This may sound obvious, but some seniors look forward to an afternoon nap to recharge during their day. It shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that sleeping in the afternoon can lead to a lack of sleep at night. That doesn’t mean they have to give up the simple pleasure of a siesta, however.
• Solution: Instead of asking Mom or Dad to eliminate their nap, ask them to consider its timing and length. It’s recommended that seniors indulge in naps only between the hours of 1 and 3p.m. and that they set an alarm clock to limit them to between 20 minutes and an hour of rest to preserve their ability to sleep at night.

• Cause: Another ritual some seniors enjoy is a nightcap before they go to bed. But, while alcohol might make us feel sleepy, it can actually disrupt our sleep cycle and cause us to wake up in the middle of the night.
• Solution: If your senior loved ones want to have an alcoholic beverage before bedtime, suggest that they have it earlier in the evening. Doctors say it is less disruptive to their rest if they have their drink right after dinner – several hours before bedtime – to keep from interrupting their sleep.

While these are some of the most common causes of sleep challenges in seniors, there are other potential causes for their restlessness. If these suggestions don’t help them rest easy, talk to their physician to see if you can pinpoint another cause, such as sleep apnea or the effects of menopause. Proper rest is too important to the mental and physical health of seniors to be ignored.

For more tips on managing senior health challenges, visit Bethesda’s Health and Wellness blog.