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What Might Be Causing Insomnia for Your Elder Loved One?

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Elder Care Deerfield Beach FL

Elder Care Deerfield Beach FLHaving a difficult time sleeping isn’t fun for anyone, but if it’s happening to your elder loved one, it can affect you, too. As her family caregiver, it’s important to get to the bottom of your loved one’s insomnia issues so you can help her resolve them.

Short-term Insomnia Causes

Shorter-term insomnia might include a temporary patch of sleepless nights for your elder loved one. It also might be used to describe intermittent problems with sleep that your loved one is having. Some of the causes of short-term insomnia can include changes to your elder loved one’s medication, environmental issues such as noise, or even stress. Sometimes the smallest changes can make it difficult for your loved one to sleep properly. Short-term insomnia might cause your loved one to have an unpredictable sleep schedule, which can ultimately make the situation more difficult.

Long-term Insomnia Causes

Long-term insomnia is a much more invasive type of insomnia. This is a form of insomnia in which your loved one consistently has a difficult time sleeping. Some of the reasons for this can include depression, anxiety, and even chronic issues with pain. Health issues can even cause your loved one to have difficulty sleeping well. Breathing problems, acid reflux, and dementia can all contribute to insomnia. If your loved one has been having sleeping issues for a longer period of time, she might be reluctant to try to solve the problem because it feels like it’s always been there.

What You Can Do for Your Elder Loved One

The first step in managing your elder loved one’s insomnia is to talk with her doctor. Medication is not always the best step to take in the beginning, but your loved one’s doctor has other solutions in his bag that he can try first. If you’re not already using a sleep schedule including regular bedtimes and wakeup times with your loved one, now might be the time to start. A sleep diary can also help you and your loved one’s doctor to figure out the more subtle contributing factors to your loved one’s sleep issues.

Work with your loved one’s entire care team, including other family members and her elder care providers, to stick to whatever plan works to help her get the sleep that she needs.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Elder Care Services in Deerfield Beach FL to provide companionship, compassion and motivation, please contact the caring staff at Responsive Home Care. Call today 954-486-6440.

How Can You Take Time Away from Caregiving, Even for an Afternoon?

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Elder Care Deerfield Beach FL

Being able to take time away from caregiving can seem impossible for many family caregivers. But the truth is that you really can do just that if you have a system for getting extra help in place.

Become Acquainted with Your Limits

Your mind and your body communicate with you more than you might realize. Your mind starts to have difficulty concentrating, for example, when it needs time to reset itself. Your body might become run down, first displaying fatigue and then possibly moving on to other issues, such as headaches or mild illnesses. These are the later stages, though, when your mind and body are trying their hardest to get your attention. You need to learn what the signs are when you’re not at your limits, but simply nearing them.

Build up a Favor Bank

Everyone does favors for friends and other loved ones from time to time. As a family caregiver, sometimes you might feel loathe to ask other people for help, though. Try to look at it as exchanging help with one person that you’re likely to help later on. When you look at it as something that you can repay, it might be easier to allow yourself to accept help now.

Make a List of People Who Can Help

Often family caregivers feel that there isn’t anyone who can really help them. The truth is usually quite different, though. There are likely friends, family members, and elder care providers who can offer different levels of help in all sorts of situations. Start by making a list of all the people you can call on for help and then include information about specific tasks that each person could help you with.

Take Advantage of Help When it’s Offered

When people do offer you help, take them up on the offer. Unless the situation is completely not helpful for you or your elderly loved one, you can definitely take advantage of unexpected offers of assistance. If you’re still at the point where you’re learning your limitations, these types of offers can even help you to spot cues that you might have otherwise overlooked.

When you are finally able to take time away from caregiving, use it to get back on target and to recharge yourself.

If you or an aging loved one are considering help at home, please contact the best home care company in Fort Lauderdale, FL and the surrounding area: Responsive Home Care. Call today 954-486-6440.