How Assisted Living Handles Insomnia In Seniors
A good night’s sleep can improve your critical thinking and information retention, and allow you to be more proactive. On the flip side, its absence can severely impact both your physical and mental health.
According to an NIH report, up to 50% of older adults experience insomnia. Insomnia is common among seniors, but it is not certain that it is a normal part of aging. While insomnia can be managed with lifestyle changes, you may struggle to find adequate support in your traditional home.
Assisted living communities offer an environment that supports residents in developing a healthy sleeping routine. In this blog, we will see how assisted living can help you with your insomnia. But before we get to that, let’s see how insomnia or poor sleep can affect your health and well-being. Read along!
How Poor Sleep Can Affect Your Health
Before knowing how assisted living helps senior individuals with insomnia, it is important to understand how poor sleep can affect your health and well-being. Although inadequate sleep can lead to several problems, they usually start with the following three.
Reduces Physical Health
Your biggest asset in your golden years is not the investments you made or the house you bought. It is your health that allows you to maintain your quality of life. When poor sleep patterns persist and become central to your lifestyle, your physical health will start to dwindle with subtle effects, including muscle pain, increased appetite for unhealthy food, and lack of energy throughout the day.
When you neglect your sleep, it will eventually lead to problems such as weakened immunity and metabolism, weight gain, and fatigue.
Causes Cognitive Decline
Just like any other organ, the brain also ages with time, causing cognitive functions to decline. You may often forget where you put your keys or the name of a person you were talking about. These are normal signs of aging. However, when you experience insomnia for a long time, your cognitive decline can decline drastically, leading to memory-related issues like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Reduces Emotional and Mental Well-being
Unhealthy sleep patterns can adversely affect your emotional and mental well-being. As a senior adult, when you consistently sleep less than 8 hours a day, you will foster negative feelings like anxiety, stress, and frustration. You may even see changes in your behavior, such as being irritated by small things.
Moreover, insomnia may cause a decrease in your attention span, affecting your ability to carry on a brief conversation with your friends and loved ones. As a result, you may feel unhappy and discontented with life, which may even lead to feelings of isolation and depression.
3 Ways Assisted Living Helps Seniors with Insomnia
Now that we know the consequences of consistently losing your sleep, let’s see how assisted living can help.
1. Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene consists of practices that promote healthy sleep patterns. Assisted living offers a consistent environment that is comfortable and relaxing, ideal for maintaining a fixed sleep schedule. The rooms in an assisted living setup include dim lights, thick or noise-canceling walls, moderate temperature, clean and comfortable bedding, and adequate ventilation, creating an ideal environment for a peaceful sleep.
However, for some people, even a cool and peaceful environment doesn’t help when they are dealing with severe insomnia. That’s where assisted living communities will ensure that if your mind is active, your body is tired enough to sleep.
2. Structured Daytime Activity
Assisted living communities organize dozens of activities each month for residents. They allocate a lot of their resources to developing activities that physically engage you while also stimulating your mind.
The entirety of the day is divided into activities, including exercising, playing board games, indulging in the arts, social interaction, and personal time. The result of this is that you end up productively utilizing most of your energy in performing tasks, leaving you tired at the end of the day. As a result, you end up sleeping better.
3. Provides Emotional Support
As you age and experience mobility limitations, your social health becomes vulnerable, especially when you are spending more time at home. However, when you’re dealing with sleepless nights, you need people who care about you. The emotional support you look for can easily be found in assisted living.
Assisted care communities offer ample emotional support programs, including aromatherapy, group exercises, and meditation sessions. They aim to provide you with an engaging and supportive environment where you feel heard and understood.
Looking to Spend Your Retirement Years in Peace With Good Sleep? Explore Bailey Pointe Assisted Living at Roxbury Park Today
All in all, adequate sleep is the core of your well-being, especially in your golden years. Without proper sleep, your health can take a dip, causing various challenges, including constant fatigue, cognitive decline, and poor mental and emotional state.
That’s where Bailey Point Roxbury Park Assisted Living comes in, providing you with all you need to sleep better and live a healthy and quality life. If you are looking for senior care that can ease your struggles with insomnia, schedule a tour of Bailey Point Assisted Living at Roxbury Park today!
