What are ways I can encourage caregivers to get enough rest?

Over time, chronic sleep deprivation can increase the risk of high blood pressure, obesity, depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. Here are ways you can encourage a caregiver to get enough rest:

1. Create a strict sleep schedule. Getting to bed at a different time every night can negatively affect your natural circadian rhythm, making it difficult for your body to enter the restorative stage of the sleep cycle. Lack of sleep may impact a caregiver’s ability to provide in-home care to your senior loved one.
2. Establish a nighttime routine. If your caregiver has difficulty falling asleep at night, they should create and follow a strict bedtime routine. Some of the tasks that can help with a nighttime routine are listening to classical music, reading, taking a hot bath, and meditating and stretching.
3. Set healthy boundaries. To be the caregiver you want to be, you must take care of yourself. Setting boundaries and knowing how much is too essential to stay sane. Know when to delegate certain tasks to someone else and when you need some extra rest.
4. Take naps when you nap. This suggestion is usually given to new moms who are at home with an infant; sleep when the baby sleeps. And the advice also works well for people who are taking care of an elderly or disabled loved one consistently. Depending on your situation, it may be feasible to sleep a solid 8 or 9 hours every night.
5. Don’t be afraid to encourage your caregiver to ask for help. Caregivers tend to think they can handle all aspects of caring for all loved ones on their own. This type of attitude will result in caregiver burnout more quickly. If someone offers help to them, encourage them to accept.