Help with Aging Parents: Three Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
By Diane Vigue, RN, Resident Wellness Manager, The Osher Inn
Public health professionals know that a good night’s sleep an essential aspect of health promotion and chronic disease prevention, especially for the elderly.
Insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression, all of which threaten our health. Notably, insufficient sleep is associated with the onset of these diseases and also poses important implications for their management and outcome. It is also responsible for motor vehicle and machinery-related accidents, causing substantial injury and disability each year.
More than one-quarter of the U.S. population report occasionally not getting enough sleep, while almost 40% of the elderly experience sleep problems, and nearly 10% suffer from chronic insomnia.
Some of these insomnias may be due to the body not receiving sufficient oxygen during the night. However, new methods for assessing and treating sleep disorders bring hope to the millions suffering from insufficient sleep. Ask your physician if you may need an evaluation for a breathing disorder that interferes with your sleeping.
Here are some tips for getting a good night’s sleep:
- Get some activity every day – just move your body. Walking, using the fitness gym according to your physician’s order, stretching safely on a daily basis, all these can assist you in a thorough night’s rest.
- Eat right, limiting caffeinated drinks late in the day, minimizing sweets before bed, taking any diuretics according to your doctor’s order – generally not too late in the afternoon.
- Have (and stick to) a “bedtime routine”.
Sufficient sleep is not a luxury — it is a necessity — and should be thought of as a “vital sign” of good health.
For more information visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online.