Helping Bed-Bound Patients Sleep Better

Being stuck in bed all day can be very disruptive for sleep patterns. Many aspects of daily life that help us regulate our sleep-wake cycle, such as sunlight, exercise, and normal day-to-day activities, aren’t able to happen if you’re stuck in bed 24/7.

Here are a few tips that can help create a “bedtime” experience, even if “bedtime” is all the time.

1) Cool the room down. Studies show that people sleep better and longer in cool rooms. Many older bedbound patients can be sensitive to the cold, so, rather than keep the room itself warm, provide them with an extra blanket or two so you can still get the cool-room sleep benefits without the chill.

2) Get as much sun and natural light as possible. Sunlight triggers your circadian rhythm to keep your body in healthy sleep-wake patterns. If possible, try to get outside at some point during the day. And even if you can’t leave the house, make sure to fully pull back the curtains or raise the blinds to let in as much natural light as possible.

3) Avoid blue light before bed. Blue light is found both naturally and in all artificial lights, but it is especially strong in the kinds of lights found in TVs, computer screens, and cell phones. This is one of the most important kinds of light your circadian rhythm uses to tell your brain if it is nighttime or daytime, so too much exposure before sleep can cause your brain to think that it is still daytime. Try to shut down “screens” at least an hour before bedtime.

4) Establish rituals and habits. Parents understand the value of having nighttime routimes and bedtime rituals for their children, but rarely think about how valuable bedtime habits can be for themselves as adults. Giving yourself time to unwind, read a book, listen to some relaxing music, or even take a nice warm bath or shower can be useful triggers in notifying the brain that sleep is coming soon. Also, try to go to bed at the same time every evening and wake up at the same time every morning.

5) Time naps intentionally. It can be hard not to fall asleep during the day when you are snuggled up in a comfortable bed, but trying to limit how many naps (and not taking a nap after a certain time in the afternoon) you take can ensure that there is a large enough gap between your last nap and your bedtime so that you can actually fall asleep.

6) Limit caffeine intake. The “half-life” of caffeine - the amount of time it takes your body to process out half of the caffeine you have pursued - is somewhere between 4-6 hours on average. This means that it may take between 8-12 hours to fully metabolize that coffee you drank at breakfast time. Other people are even more sensitive to caffeine, and it can take them a day or two to fully stop being affected by it. If you choose to consume caffeine, keep track of how it makes you feel in the evening, and give yourself a “cut-off hour” if you find that drinking caffeinated beverages too late in the day disrupts your Zzzzz’s.

7) Try to keep the bed upright during waking hours. If you can’t get out of bed to exercise during the day, at least try to vary your position so your body understands that it is supposed to be awake and alert, rather than asleep.

Do you have any other tips for making sure that you or your bed-bound loved ones are able to sleep well at night? Share with us in the comments below!