How To Keep Elderly In Bed At Night

Each year more than 13 million seniors take a fall, and over half can't get back up without assistance. Many of those falls occur at night, when it is dark, and seniors are disoriented from lack of sleep. In order to keep elderly loved ones safe, it is important to keep them in bed at night. Serious injury, hospital stays, and other problems can arise if they wander at night. But what can caregivers do to help keep their elderly loved ones in bed at night?

Address the needs. There are a variety of reasons a senior may get up at night, they may need to use the bathroom. They may need to get a drink. They may be uncomfortable and unable to sleep. They may be bored. If you can find ways to eliminate these causes, they will stay in their beds, and have a safer night.

Seniors sometimes get up at night to get a drink, something to eat, or to take medication. This is such as simple problem to solve, as a bed organizer or tray can be used to keep water, medication, pain killers, and food items near the bed, eliminating the need to leave the bed to have that need filled. The important thing to remember is to keep these options within arm's reach so that the senior can stay in bed, rather than try to navigate through dark halls or rooms to get to the kitchen.

Another common reasons seniors are up at night is to use the bathroom. Helping seniors stay in bed at night might mean limiting liquids a few hours before bed, making sure they use the toilet right before retiring for the night, and providing them with bathroom assistance products such as overnight adult diapers, bed pans and bed pads, urinals, and other supplies that can help reduce the need to leave the bed.

As people age, their bodies often change, and less sleep is needed, and sleep becomes harder to obtain. Discomfort from physical ailments, or boredom can get in the way of sleeping. This may result in staying up late, or waking very early. Reduce the risk of slips, falls, and other nighttime hazards by helping seniors who can't sleep to stay in bed. The best way to do this is by providing them with tools to help themselves move and adjust in bed to achieve comfort. A BedCaddie, for example, a bed rail, and other tools can help with comfort. Then also address boredom. A reading light and a bedside organizer that can keep books, papers, games, the television remote, and other items to fight off boredom can keep seniors in bed and safe.

Safety rails: This is a bedside rail that literally helps keep seniors in bed, as it protects them from falling out. It can also offer support for entering and exiting the bed, which can increase safety, especially in the dark.

Even if you take every precaution possible to keep elderly in bed at night, they may get out of bed. Thus, be sure to do what you can to increase safety if they do leave their beds. This means having lighting in high traffic areas, clearing clutter and making paths for the areas most commonly used. Help them to wear secure footing, such as socks with traction, and consider a pendant or other elderly monitoring system they can use to call for help should they need it.

Dianna Malkowski is a Physician Assistant and Mayo Clinic trained nutritionist who helps customers of The CareGiver Partnership with questions to their caregiving questions. She invites you to visit blog.caregiverpartnership.com for more helpful family caregiver information. Also look here for additional tools http://www.caregiverpartnership.com/landing/daily-living/.

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