Throughout this week, we’ve covered various topics concerning sleeping problems in the elderly, from the basics to specific sleep disorders and other causes.

Now that you have a better understanding of why sleeping problems occur, we’re going to talk about a few ways to help you or your aging loved one maintain proper sleeping habits.

Maintaining proper sleep habits on your own

In our previous post, we mentioned several kinds of treatments for disorders such as sleep apnea or Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). However, depending on the severity of insomnia, there are several ways you can help maintain proper sleeping habits on your own. Remember, if you’re ever unsure, you should always seek out the advice of a medical professional in order to ensure that all the proper steps are being taken to maintain the best possible health.

Here is what you can do to help (adapted from helpguide.org):

Daytime habits

Despite what you may think, proper sleeping habits aren’t confined to bedroom. In fact, what you do throughout the day can really affect the way you sleep at night, which is why it is important to be aware of your daytime habits and how they can affect you at night.

• Be active. Staying active throughout the day helps to naturally prepare your body to wind itself down at the end of night. You can stay active by exercising regularly and getting sunlight to naturally balance your sleep-wake cycles.
• Limit caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. Stimulants affect proper sleeping habits by disrupting your deep sleep. If such things easily affect you, try to limit them or refrain from using them after a certain point in the day.
• Stay positive. Having a positive outlook helps to de-stress your body and reduce anxiety and depression, which can keep your mind racing throughout the night. Try your best to end your day with a positive attitude rather than a negative one.

Right before bed

Avoid heavy/large meals. Heavy meals around dinnertime keep you up because your body will continue to digest the food. Instead, try your best to eat light meals and/or snacks before bed.

Avoid excessive light and noise. Loud noises and excessive light can upset your sleep cycle by offsetting your body’s production of melatonin levels. Try to wind down before bed by reading a book or listening to soft music and avoid sleeping with the TV or music on.

Other suggestions

• Avoiding using your bedroom for other activities such as work, watching TV, etc. This will help you associate the bedroom with sleeping and signal your brain that it is time to wind down.
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
• Develop bedtime rituals that help you relax and slowly ease yourself into a good nights rest.
• Avoid sleeping aids. Sleeping aids are not meant for long-term use and can often worsen your insomnia through dependency. Consult your doctor before taking any sleeping aids.

Sleeping is a vital part of maintaining your health. With these tips, we hope to help you or your aging loved one develop proper sleeping habits that will keep you healthy for years to come. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about any of the topics we discuss, please feel free to give us a call!

Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living “currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa “provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of geriatric care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. Get your free Cost Comparison guide by clicking here. Or contact us for a free consultation or just to say hello!

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“Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit http://www.private-duty.firstcareco.wpengine.com.”

Ask your aging loved ones how they slept the night before, and you’re bound to hear a few complaints.

It’s no surprise to hear an elderly person tell you they have difficulty sleeping. According to researchers, nearly 50% of older American adults complain of chronic trouble with sleep.

As we know, sleep is a vital part of maintaining our health, which is why it’s important to do what we can to ensure that our loved ones are getting their much-needed shut-eye.

Throughout this guide, we’re going to cover several topics regarding sleeping problems among the elderly, from the basics of sleep, to specific sleep disorders, to what we can do to maintain our sleep.

Today, we are going to focus on the basics. Take a look below:

The need for sleep does not decrease with age

As we age, the amount of time we sleep seems to decrease significantly, especially for the elderly; according to researchers, healthy young adults sleep 95% of the night, whereas healthy older adults, ages 60 and above, sleep 85% of the night.

This is due in part to changes in our sleep patterns as a result of aging. As we age, our bodies produce lower levels of growth hormones, affecting our deep sleep cycle and the amount of melatonin our body produces. As a result, we may experience more fragmented sleep, causing us to wake up more often and throwing off our internal clock.

However, despite the changes in our sleep patterns, sleep is still an essential part of maintaining our health, meaning that aging adults require just as much sleep as young adults do.

The amount of sleep you get is a good gauge of your health

Sleeping well helps to maintain both physical and mental health, as it is important for such things as improving concentration and memory, refreshing our immune system, and repairing cell damage.

As such, health experts take into consideration a persons sleep habits when gauging their health, as those who have trouble sleeping are more likely to suffer from depression, as well as certain illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and weight gain.

Sleep problems are not inevitable

Fortunately, trouble with sleep is not an inevitable part of aging. While difficulty sleeping is common among the elderly, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is entirely the result of aging. According to one study, most of the changes in sleep patterns occur between the ages of 20 and 60. Beyond the age of 60 though, older healthy adults experience very little change in their sleep patterns.

Rather, difficulty sleeping may occur as we age due to various health issues, such as certain illnesses, chronic pain, and/or depression. So, by maintaining our health, we can help to improve our sleep patterns to a certain degree.

Sleep is essential to maintaining our health and well-being, which is why it is so important to understand why and how we can ensure proper sleeping habits for our loved ones. On Wednesday, we’ll give you an outline of various sleep disorders, but in the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give Encompass a call. We’d love to hear from you!

Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living “currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa “provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of geriatric care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. Get your free Cost Comparison guide by clicking here. Or contact us for a free consultation or just to say hello!

—

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“Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit http://www.private-duty.firstcareco.wpengine.com.”

Having an understanding of what elderly depression entails is one of the key steps to helping your loved ones improve their lives.

Throughout this guide, we’ve talked about the various aspects of elderly depression, from a brief overview (i.e. the physical effects, suicide rates, and the importance of addressing such issues), to the causes of depression, to the physical signs of depression, as well as the mental signs of depression.

Now that you’re better acquainted with the various aspects of elderly depression, we’re going to help you by guiding you through how to care for them in their time of need. For today, we’re going to focus on how to approach your aging parent when it comes to discussing depression.

Take a look below:

It’s never just in their head

Throughout this guide, we’ve talked about the importance of understanding just how much depression can affect a persons life. As such, it’s important to take everything your parents say into consideration. Never treat your loved one as if their symptoms are all in their head. Whether it has to do with physical symptoms such as chronic pain or headaches, or mental symptoms such feelings of loneliness or extreme feelings of guilt, belittling your parents problems will only make the situation worse and prevent you from properly helping them.

Depression is more than just a simple illness

Another thing you want to remember is that you avoid treating your loved ones problem like a common cold or flu. Remember, depression is much more complicated than it seems. Once again, belittling their situation by making them feel like they have an illness that simply needs to cured, will only make them feel worse about it and will more than likely cause them to close up rather than let you help.

Talk them through it

Most importantly, you need to make sure you show your support for your parents by talking them through their struggles. Letting them know you are willing to help is one of the best ways to warm them up to idea of that things can be improved because sometimes, they just need to know someone is there by their side. Hopefully, once they feel comfortable enough opening up to you, they will have the confidence to seek out professional help.

Approaching your parents about their depression can be difficult not only for them, but for you as well. Remember though, the sooner you approach them, the better chance you have at improving their lives.

As always, if you ever concerned about the well-being of your loved one, please feel free to give us a call. We are always here to help.

Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa “provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of geriatric care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. Get your free Cost Comparison guide by clicking here. Or contact us for a free consultation or just to say hello!

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“Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit http://www.private-duty.firstcareco.wpengine.com.”

Throughout this week, we’ve discussed the various aspects of elderly depression, from a brief overview (i.e. the physical effects, suicide rates, and the importance of addressing such issues), to the causes of depression.

Understanding the causes of your loved ones circumstance is only one part of understanding depression. In some instances, a parent may be able to hide their depression, requiring you to do a little detective work. So, to finish off this weeks guide, we’re going talk about a few signs that may indicate that your loved is depressed. Take a look below:

Physical Symptoms

As we’ve mentioned throughout this weeks guide, depression can be much more than a mental affliction. Because physical symptoms of depression can often be persistent, your parent may experience chronic pain or discomfort.

As such, it is important to take into account your loved ones physical health and to not rule out depression as a cause otherwise, such symptoms may not be properly treated.

Below, we’ve outlined some of the physical symptoms, which may indicate that your loved one has depression (adapted from WebMD):

• Headaches, dizziness or lightheadedness. Headaches are perhaps the most common physical symptom of depression. Along with headaches, your loved one may experience dizziness or lightheadedness, which can increase the likelihood of serious injury from falling.
• Back pain, muscle aches and joint pain. Along with causing chronic pain, depression may also heighten pain and discomfort caused by other health problems. If you loved one has back pain, muscle aches, or joint pain, it’s very possible that depression isn’t the cause but too many people don’t even consider it as a possibility when they see physical pain.
• Chest pain.  Chest pain can also be a sign of depression. However, anyone experiencing chest pain should receive medical assistance immediately, as it may be a sign of serious heart, stomach, lung or other problems.
• Change in appetite or weight. Your loved one may also have a change in appetite or weight. Whether your parent is gaining or losing weight, extreme fluctuations in weight and appetite can be a sign that your parent is depressed.
• Digestive problems. Body changes caused by depression (i.e. drastic weight changes) can result in digestive problems as well. This may lead to digestive problems, such as diarrhea or constipation. In regards to diarrhea, be aware of your pars fluid intake, as it may lead to dehydration.
• Exhaustion and fatigue. Another common symptom of depression is the feeling of exhaustion or fatigue. If your loved one finds it difficult to get out of bed in the morning or do daily task that they normally can do, they may be experiencing depression.
• Sleeping problems. Along with exhaustion and fatigue, many people with depression may have difficulty sleeping or experience an imbalanced sleep cycle.

Check back on Monday to see our post on the mental signs of elderly depression, as well as the second part of our guide on Depression in the Elderly, which we will cover over the rest of the week. In the mean time, if you have any questions or concerns about your loved one, please feel free to give us a call. We’re here to help.

Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of geriatric care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. Get your free Cost Comparison guide by clicking here. Or contact us for a free consultation or just to say hello!

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“Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit http://www.private-duty.firstcareco.wpengine.com.”

A while back, we did a brief blog post on the topic of elderly depression. As we mentioned then, depression is a common problem for elderly people.

As we age, we’re faced with retirement, the death of loved ones, increased isolation, and declining health all of which have the possibility of affecting our outlook on life.

Depression can be hard, not only on our aging loved ones, but on the rest of the family as well, which is why it’s so important to make sure we do our best to ensure that our loved ones are properly cared for if and when depression strikes.

Throughout this week, we’ll talk about various aspects of elderly depression, from a general overview, to causes and signs of depression.

For today, we’ll begin with some basic things you need to know about depression in the elderly. Take a look below:

Depression is more than just mental.

Despite the fact that depression is considered a mental illness, depression can actually affect us physically, too. Those with depression will often experience chronic pain, fatigue, changes in appetite and weight, as well as difficulty sleeping.

In turn, their physical health can decline significantly and may result in other serious complications. This is part of the reason why it’s so important to not make your loved ones feel like it’s all just in their head. Doing so avoids addressing the issue and also increases the likelihood of causing your loved one suffering.

Suicide rates are high among the elderly.

According to a recent article in The New York Times New Old Age blog, 2010 statistics taken from the Center for Disease Control show that among those over 65, 14.9 per 100,000 take their own lives each year. Out of those numbers, elderly white men have the highest rate of suicide with about 29 per 100,000 over all, and more than 47 per 100,000 among those over age 85. Those numbers may be under-reported due to the stigma associated with suicide.

Depression is not inevitable.

Suicide and depression are especially difficult subjects to talk about. And, while many would rather avoid these subjects altogether, addressing such issues can do a lot to prevent unfortunate incidents such as suicide from occurring.

As we mentioned above, suicides among older people have declined in recent decades, which is likely attributed to improved screening and treatment of depression, meaning that depression can be avoidable (or at least treatable). By taking the proper steps to make sure your loved ones are adequately cared for, you can do a lot to maintain (if not improve) their outlook, despite all of the difficult trials they have gone through.

At Encompass, we strive to ensure the best quality of life through all stages of the aging process, and that means going through the good and the bad with you. If you are concerned about your loved ones well being or have any questions, please feel free to give Encompass a call. We are here to help.

Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of geriatric care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. Get your free Cost Comparison guide by clicking here. Or contact us for a free consultation or just to say hello!

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photo credit: ‘Ajnagraphy’ via photopin cc

“Physicians’ Choice Private Duty Assisted Living solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit http://www.private-duty.firstcareco.wpengine.com.”