Four Ways to Help Your Senior to Beat Nighttime Anxiety

Anxiety that builds for your senior overnight can create all sorts of issues for her and for you. There can be any number of contributing factors, so it helps if you and she can get to the bottom of what’s keeping her up at night.

Reduce Outside or Background Noises

Home Care Little Falls, MN:Beat Nighttime Anxiety

Noise can be a big problem, especially if your senior lives in a busy area that has a lot of exterior noise at all hours. Using noise-dampening materials, particularly on curtains, can help a lot. You might also want to consider using a white noise machine. That can mask outside noises, but it can also create a comforting humming sound that soothes your senior at other times of the day, too.

Put Nightlights to Work
Part of your senior’s anxiety might stem from being unable to see in the middle of the night. This is where strategically placed nightlights can help quite a bit. If the light is difficult for her to sleep with but she truly does still want the nightlight, consider a sleeping mask for your senior. That can help her to sleep well but also know that she’s got light in the middle of the night if she needs it.

Make Sure Assistive Devices Are Easy to Access
Another contributing factor for anxiety might be the fear that she might be stuck if she needs to get up in the middle of the night. This is particularly true if your senior relies on walker or a wheelchair in order to get around. Make sure that your senior has easy access to any tools that she needs in order to be mobile. That can go a long way toward reassuring her that all is well.

Hire Home Care Providers for Overnight Assistance
Something else that can help is to have someone available in the middle of the night. You likely can’t do that job regularly, as much as you might want to. Continuing to have your own sleep interrupted is going to create long-term problems for you in terms of exhaustion. Home care providers who take over the night shift can be there if your senior needs someone in the middle of the night. This can help her to feel more relaxed at night, too.

If you and your senior live in the same home, her nighttime anxiety can create big problems for you. Even if you don’t live together, she might be calling you often in the middle of the night. Solving the causes of her anxiety can make a big difference for both of you.

Excerpt: Nighttime anxiety can affect your senior’s entire next day adversely.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Home Care Little Falls, MN, please contact the caring staff at Alternative Senior Care today. Providing Home Care in Central Minnesota and Surrounding Communities. Call us Today (320) 352-3350.