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Article
Understanding Sleep Disturbances
"The ability to sleep appears to deteriorate as cognitive abilities decline." This is a quote from the handbook Understanding Difficult Behaviors. This makes it necessary for caregivers to continue to adapt to sleep changes as they occur and to look for possible causes and solutions to these problems.
It is important to try to recognize elements in the environment, the medical situation, or other causes that might contribute to these sleep problems.
Some Areas To Evaluate:
- Daytime activity patterns.
- Normal bedtime.
- Number of hours of sleep usually required.
- Pattern of sleep problems, such as early a.m. awakening, difficulty falling asleep, frequent wakening during the night, or nightmares.
- Activities associated with sleep preparation.
- Chemical ingestion, including alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or hypnotics.
- Medications and their possible side-effects.
- Nocturia.
- The presence of pain and/or underlying illnesses.
- Establish or maintain a usual bedtime hour and routine. Change very early bedtimes to a later hour. Wake the person in the morning to avoid sleeping late in the day.
- Identify stressors in bedtime routine and adjust accordingly.
- Minimize extraneous stimuli; use dim lights, create a quiet environment, close curtains.
- Check room temperature, bedclothes, blanket warmth, mattress and number of pillows. Try a cooler room temperature and a warmer blanket.
- Offer a light carbohydrate evening snack and toilet just prior to sleep time. Milk and high protein snacks, such as cheese and nuts, contain L-tryptophan, a sleep promoter.
- Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, drugs and spicy foods.
- Give diuretics early in the day.
- Discourage daytime naps. Activity and exercise promote sleep by increasing fatigue and relaxation.
- If sleep disruption is caused by pain, use adequate analgesia prior to trying sleep inducing medications
The response to sleep mediations can vary from one person to another, so finding the correct sleep agent can be frustrating. This makes it necessary to work with your doctor and to seek other solutions before trying the medication route.
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