I care for my dad with dementia in my home. We have a video monitor which we use at night, and have his sleep habits pretty much under control. I fall asleep fine. I can wake up on my own in the middle of the night, like to use the bathroom, and go back to sleep just fine. However, when Dad calls for me in the middle of the night (this week was BAD, it was four nights in a row because of gas issues with his colostomy, and then last night it was my daughter not feeling well, I need SLEEP, lol!) I wake on high alert/with high anxiety and I CANNOT go back to sleep. I’ve tried oils, breathing & relaxation techniques, and melatonin. I’m just so amped up after I take care of that situation, that nothing works. Any suggestions?
I hope you can get some sleep!
Sometimes when sleepless I've noted tenseness in my body. I would take a deep breath and then on exhale focus on relaxing every part, arms, legs, shoulders... let yourself feel like you are melting into the bed. Keep taking long slow breaths and slow exhales, relaxing more and more as you exhale. Generally you can feel the tenseness go as you relax - then the suggestions about focusing on something like counting numbers or whatever, helps to get the mind off the usual worries and thought threads.
https://elisabethelliot.org/
Something about her voice and the topics, keep me interested and relax me, then before I know it, I am back to sleep. It has been effective for me most every time.
very calming. Works like a charm. No feeling of “being high”. Benzodiazepines can cause memory problems. No known side effects with the cannabis. I live in California where it’s legal and readily available.
You cannot go on being deprived of sleep. Sleep is essential.
If I were in your position with his output being unpredictable, then I would go see his doctor and see about putting him on a new diet and not feeding past a certain time. Also ask about giving him Gas-X. You cannot live like this!
I use Alexa to play Meditation or Spa channel on Amazon music.
oils don’t help much due to the smell of smoke etc in her room. I am a Christian so prayer helps calm my mind.
lastly, I’ve begun sipping on chamomile tea before bed.
lastly, when they nap, you nap. Just like when my babies were little.
best of all and hugs.
The second go to is to download white noise from youtube. I prefer waterfalls. But try them out and see which ones you like. As well, put two drops of rose oil on each side of your pillow every night. That should do it.
I used to get very little sleep because of being a worry wort. Not anymore.
It might also be a good idea to hire somebody to "take a night shift" a couple of times per week so you can just relax and sleep. Hire a sitter for minimum wage, or ask a family member to help, so you can just sleep and know that somebody else will attend to your father at night.
My Dr said it was alright to give it to my 96 yr old Dad with dementia.
Also my Dad likes a snack before going to bed as he doesn't eat much at meals.
You may also try a cup of Sleepy Time Tea right before bedtime along with the melatonin and try playing some relaxing music like sounds of nature like ocean waves.
now days if I wake up and feel I can’t get back to sleep, I take a 100 mg Tryptophan capsule and sometimes add a 3 mg quick dissolve melatonin lozenge. (Nature's Bounty brand).
Good luck!
And of course, if you can get it in, exercise during the day may help you get and stay tuckered at night.
Wishing you all the best, going without sleep sucks!
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1101/holy-basil
Side Effects:
"When taken by mouth: Holy basil is POSSIBLY SAFE when used for up to 8 weeks. Taking holy basil might cause nausea or diarrhea. There isn't enough reliable information available to know if it is safe to use for longer than 8 weeks."
Wonder which is worse, lack of sleep or nausea and diarrhea...
Our brains will fulfill our thoughts. If we lie there and think I can't sleep, then I won't sleep. If I think I'll never be able to go back to.sleep, then I won't.
I worked shift works for 8 years, two weeks per shift. The easiest shifts were the repetitive 8 hours (8-4, 10-6, 4-12, 12 mid -8a) The worst shifts were 8-4 one day, 4-12, the next, 10-6, the next, 3-11, etc. One of the other Inspectors told me this trick and I've used it for 30+ years. It took one of my friends about 10 days to master it, but she did.
Having said that, I would love to sleep an uninterrupted 8 hours. But I'm afraid that day will be here sooner than I want.😔