Over the next couple of weeks at Millbrook Beds we’re offering you forty winks in the form of forty tips to improve your sleep. In our four-part blog special, we have ten tips to improve children’s sleep, and a further ten tips each for teens, adults and older adults wanting to sleep better too.
And, to reverse traditional board game rules, we’re beginning eldest first.
Ten sleep tips for older adults
As we age, our circadian rhythm can alter. What this can mean for many older adults is that the patterns of what’s ‘normal’ for them in terms of sleep, perhaps even when they feel like eating, can gradually change until they notice being out of sync with the instinctive pattern that’s determined their lives up until now.
If you’re worried about these changes or are experiencing other health concerns, speak to your GP. Otherwise, we have some tips for you to get the best from your changing sleep patterns:
- Cut caffeine. The effects of caffeine can be stronger in older adults so, even if you’ve never struggled with caffeine before, now could be the time to cut back.
- Think about liquids. If you’re finding it harder to get back to sleep after sleep disturbances such as nighttime toilet trips, focus on drinking more before dinner time and cutting down the fluids you’re having during the evening.
- Daily exercise. Incorporating exercise into your daily routine not only has benefits for your wellbeing, but your sleep too.
- Adjust. If your body is telling you it wants to go to bed earlier and to get up earlier, embrace it. Resisting the changing rhythm of your body is futile.
- Consistency. Whatever your changing routine, consistency is king. Try and do the same things (eating/sleeping/exercising) at similar times where possible.
- Sensible napping. If you need to nap, make time earlier in the day. Late afternoon naps will be likely to disrupt your sleep at nighttime which is the sleep you need far more.
- Eat larger meals earlier. Again, even if indigestion has never been an issue for you, as you age you may find your stomach doesn’t tolerate large meals as well, so eat your main meal way in advance of bedtime.
- Seek help for snoring. It’s a fact that, as we age, we snore more. But if yours or your partner’s snoring is affecting your sleep, this is no less reason to seek help – speak to your GP.
- Keep it temperate. One of the biggest causes of sleep disturbance is feeling too warm or too cold. Again, particularly for older people, it’s important to regulate the temperature to avoid a too cold or too warm bedroom that could cause avoidable sleep disturbance.
- Comfort first. At any age, it stands to reason that if we want to sleep well, we need to give our bodies a comfortable and well-made bed to sleep on.
Good sleep is a worthwhile investment at any age, sleep well and feel well with a handmade pocket sprung bed from Millbrook Beds.