Home Care for Parkinson’s Disease: Helping Your Aging Parent Get the Rest They Need

Home Care in Oakbrook IL

Many elderly adults with Parkinson’s disease suffer from sleep disruptions. They may not be able to fall asleep or may wake up several times during the night. They may also experience issues such as flailing, kicking, tossing and turning, punching, and other disruptions that make it hard for them to sleep and can disturb the sleep of their partner. Not getting the rest that they need can have serious implications for their health and quality of life. Sleep is what restores the body and the mind, enables them to heal, and gives them the strength and energy that they need to function. Without this sleep the body will not be able to function properly and your parent will experience increased Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Helping your loved one get better sleep will enable them to better control their symptoms and give them a higher overall quality of life.

Use these tips to help your aging parent get the rest that they need as they progress through PD:

• Ensure that their sleeping environment is designed for comfort. Find bedding that they love and make sure that it is kept clean and fresh at all times

• Establish a sleep routine. Create a routine that will help your parent to relax at night. This will not only help their body to relax, making sleep easier, but will also help their mind to relax. Over time the steps of this routine will trigger thoughts and feelings of sleep, furthering the relaxing benefits and helping your parent rest more effectively.

• Set a sleep schedule. The mind is highly structured and works extremely well on schedules. This is especially true for sleep. Your parent’s body not only needs a certain amount of sleep each day, but will thrive when it is given the same amount of sleep at the same times. This is because setting this schedule will enable to brain to associate that time of day with sleep. When that time comes, the mind will quiet and the body will relax, deepening the sleep and making it more effective. Have your parent set a specific time of day that they will go to bed and when they will wake up. Encourage them to stick with these times regardless of the day.

Hiring a home care provider to be with your aging parent during the night can be extremely helpful if your senior has difficulty sleeping. This in home health care services provider will be available and alert in the event that there is an emergency, such as a fall or other accident, or your parent needs additional support due to sleep disruptions. If your parent does not need someone who is awake and alert all night but may benefit from having someone available in the event of an emergency, you may want to consider live-in care. This type of care involves home care providers who serve in 24-hour shifts, being awake and alert with your parent during the day and then sleeping in their home at night.

Source
http://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/living-well/activities-of-daily-living/sleep-and-rest

For home care in Oakbrook, IL, call 708-761-4909. Serving La Grange, Oakbrook, Oakbrook Terrace, Brookfield, Westchester, Downers Grove, Berwyn, River Forest, Oak Park, Hinsdale, Chicago and surrounding communities.