Sundowners: How Can Family Caregivers Help with the Symptoms?
Does your elderly loved one have sundowners? If so, you may already have a feeling how challenging it is going to be when caring for them. With this being said, there are some tips that have helped family caregivers to manage sundowners better in their elderly loved ones. If you use these tips, it could help to calm and relax your elderly loved one, so their symptoms aren’t quite as bad. If the tips noted here today work really well, they may even help your elderly loved one to have more good days than they were having.
Play Calming Music
Personal Care at Home in Ada, MI: Sundowners and Seniors
One of the things that you or personal care at home providers can do is to play calming music for your elderly loved one. Many elderly people who have sundowners are relaxed when listening to Beethoven, white noise, or other calming music and noises. If you aren’t sure what works the best for your elderly loved one, you or the senior care providers can do trial and error. When you find a type of calming music that works well, put it on a list so everyone who cares for your elderly loved one can see and play it.
Massages
There are some senior citizens who have sundowners who don’t like to be touched. However, there are others who find touch soothing. If this is the case for your elderly loved one, you may want to hire someone to give them massages. It could help to relax them before they go to bed, so they can sleep easier and have fewer symptoms of sundowning.
Using Essential Oils
You may be able to use some essential oils to calm your elderly loved one if they have symptoms of sundowning, too. Some of the best essential oils for this purpose are lavender, rose, and chamomile. Again, you and the home care providers may have to do some trial and error to see what works best for calming your elderly loved one. Once you find a blend that works for them, be sure to write it down and make it available for anyone who is caring for your elderly loved one.
Conclusion
These are some of the ways that family caregivers can help their elderly loved ones who have sundowners. Now that you know what to do, you can hopefully help to calm your elderly loved one in the evening and nighttime hours. You may need to do some trial and error or a combination of these techniques to see what works best.
If you or someone you know needs help with Personal Care at Home in Ada, MI, contact Gauthier Family Home Care. We provide quality and affordable home care services in our community. Call us at (616) 258-2300 for more information.
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/tips-coping-sundowning#:~:text=Go%20outside%20or%20at%20least,Get%20enough%20rest%20at%20night
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