Wednesday, 05 February 2014

A caregiver’s guide to getting some sleep

Care giving is a stressful job and can wreak havoc with your sleep patterns. Shift rotations, difficult or very sickly patients as well as managing your own life are all psychological stressors that, as tired as you may feel, can keep you lying awake and not getting those all important sleep hours. This mostly exacerbates the problem, and so starts a vicious cycle of stress and sleeplessness.

While there are many over-the-counter sleeping pills, some people complain of feeling ‘groggy’ or ‘spaced out’ the next day. It is not always necessary to resort to sleep drugs, try natural methods firsts and you may find you’ll be fast asleep in no time.

Its shouldn’t come as a surprise that some sleep tricks we use on babies work just as well on adults, and yet few people consider using the techniques to help them drop off at night.

Pre-bedtime rituals are often unintentional, but they do help your body recognise that you are preparing for ‘sleep mode’. Although you may work long hours and are tempted to walk in the door and head straight for your pillow, even if you get home late or work night shifts, take half an hour for your pre-bedtime ritual, be it morning or night. Have a bath or shower (incorporate some lavender oils which are known to be great sleep enhancers), make a warm caffeine-free drink and read a few pages of a book.

Exercising 3 hours before going to sleep may cause sleep disturbances, but incorporating exercise into your daily routine is a great de-stressor which is good for getting a full night’s sleep.

If you can’t fit exercise into your schedule, then even 15 minutes of meditation a day has been known to combat stress and increase relaxation using breathing techniques.

Lastly turn your sleep space into a peaceful sanctuary, which is dark, a perfect temperature and free from all electronics and pet noises and disturbances.

More in this Category: