Tips to Getting Your Best Sleep in Your Senior Years
Tips to Getting Your Best Sleep
in Your Senior Years
Doctors recommend that people sleep about seven to nine consecutive hours every day. This is sometimes easier said than done. As we age, sleep becomes harder to come by and the senior demographic tends to sleep for fewer hours, and also tend to wake up quite a bit in the middle of the night. This can be attributed to several factors, but the main one is usually that the neurons responsible for sleep regulation in the brain begin to become fewer in number the older we get. But don’t worry – there are some things you can do to ensure you get great sleep even during your senior years.
Treat Medical Conditions
Certain conditions can cause pain and discomfort in our senior years, making it quite impossible for someone to sleep well through the night. Due to their old age, you might find that someone suffers from back pain, arthritis, diabetes, heartburn in the nighttime, and even the constant need to urinate. In all, these aren’t ideal conditions for proper sleep. The first step is to speak with your physician and ensure that anything that can be treated is receiving the proper attention.
Be Careful with Medications
Due to the aforementioned conditions, many senior citizens take several medications. Although these drugs are crucial in keeping certain conditions under control, they unfortunately might impair your sleep as a side effect. Make sure that you understand the medications you’re taking and the potential they carry to disturb your sleep.
Establish Routines
For senior citizens, routines are your friend. This means establishing routines to keep everything on track every day. You can have dinner, go to sleep at a specific time, and wake up at a specific time every single day, even on the weekends. In a while, this becomes ingrained in your body and therefore it becomes a lot easier to sleep and stay asleep for a longer time.
Reduce Stress
Stress is one of the biggest sleep killers amongst people of all ages not just seniors. When you are stressed, you tend to fixate on the issue and because of that finding sleep becomes a bit problematic. Practice stress eliminating exercises such as yoga and peaceful meditation to not only help eliminate stress, but also keep the body strong and fluid.
Exercise Often
Exercise is one of the best sleep motivators for senior citizens. Although some people think that because they are old they don’t need to do their exercise, they deprive themselves a great night’s sleep by not taking some time to break a sweat. When you work out, you are able to stretch your limbs and use your muscles. Although before you embark on this, you should consult with your doctor to get the green light on which ones are great for you! You might also consider doing them in the morning so that you don’t stay up on account of the exercise by doing them late in the evening.
Although sleep patterns in seniors change dramatically as they continue to age, there are things they can do to not only increase the quantity, but also quality for sleep. Having a great night’s rest will ripple through your day and bring good tidings all through.
Thank You to Our Guest Blog Writer:
Krista Harper
email: kristaharper63@gmail.com
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