Your elderly family member’s environment can have a huge impact on whatever activity she’s trying to accomplish. If sleep is an issue for your senior, then her bedroom might be part of the problem. Figuring out the answers might require a little bit of experimentation to find out what the problem is.
Make the Room Dark
Even a little bit of light can be enough to affect sleep for your senior. Consider hanging blackout curtains or heavy blinds to limit light overnight. Something else to consider is a sleep mask. Everyone has a different tolerance for light at night, so talk to your elderly family member about what might work best for her.
But Add a Night Light
Even though you want to limit light, you want your senior to be safe overnight if she needs to get up in the middle of the night for any reason. Turning on a light might be an option, but that can make getting back to sleep difficult. A motion-sensing night light that isn’t too bright can help her to see well enough to avoid falling but won’t keep her awake.
Check Evening Temperatures
It’s also important to take a closer look at what overnight temperatures are in your senior’s bedroom. Even if you know that the thermostat is set to a certain temperature, it can help to have a thermometer in the room measuring the ambient temperature. That way you can tell if the room is hotter than you think it is, which can contribute to sleep issues.
Choose a Clock with a Dim Light
Too many alarm clocks have a bright face that isn’t so bad during the day but is awful at night. Find one that either has a dimmer switch that your senior can control or that has a very dim light on its own. This can make a huge difference.
Limit Distractions Before Bed
Something else that helps considerably is for your elderly family member to limit her distractions before bed. That might mean turning off the television earlier than she usually does or choosing activities that are calmer rather than energizing.
Making any changes to your senior’s routines and environment can feel like a big shift for your senior. Having help from senior care providers to assist with things like reminding her to follow a daily routine can be a way to manage some of these changes.
