Four Excellent Habits for Good Sleep
If your elderly family member isn’t sleeping well, there are likely many other areas in her life that are not running smoothly. These ideas can help to get her sleep back on track.
Regular Exercise
Your elderly family member’s doctor has likely recommended some form of exercise for her, so now is the time to start if she hasn’t already. Make sure that you’re familiar with the boundaries within which exercise is safe for your elderly family member and then put a plan in motion. Even a few minutes of stretching each day can help so very much.
Healthy Food Choices
Eating the right foods is what fuels your elderly family member’s body. Too much of the foods that are low in nutrients means that your senior’s body doesn’t have what it needs in order to properly operate. Talk to your senior’s doctor about working with a dietician or a nutritionist. These specialists can help you to choose a diet that is just right for your senior’s current health needs.
A Solid Daily Routine
One problem that can plague aging adults is that they may not have much of a daily routine any longer. Retirement can be fantastic, but if your aging family member doesn’t have a general idea of what she’s doing each day, she may find that she wakes up at random times and goes to bed way too late. Help your elderly family member to work out a time that is good for her to wake up and establish some general times for other activities throughout the day, such as meals and exercise. Then set up a routine that eases her into bedtime.
Help to Spend Her Energy Wisely
Using her energy wisely can be a huge tool for your aging adult. This means that instead of struggling through household tasks on her own, she allows home care providers to take over. This frees up her time and energy to focus on choosing healthier foods at mealtimes, for instance. She’s more able to have the room she needs to spend her time wisely when she has the energy with which to do so.
Even if your elderly family member is following all of these tips to the letter, she might still be having trouble sleeping. It might be a good idea to talk to her doctor at that point and determine if there is anything else that you can do that might help.
