Getting Help From Your Healthcare Team
Sometimes, you may need more than the tips above to help you sleep.
Brewster recommends telling your provider about the following symptoms, especially if they persist, happen suddenly, or begin to affect daytime functioning, safety, or health:
- New or worsening difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Frequent nighttime awakenings
- Loud snoring
- Breathing pauses or gasping during sleep
- Acting out dreams or unusual movements during sleep
- Noticeable changes in daytime mood, alertness, or irritability
“If you’re routinely having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or if you’re regularly napping for an hour or more during the day, you should discuss your sleep with your primary care provider,” says Miner.
“Sleep problems can have many causes, so changes from a person’s usual sleep pattern or behavior should not automatically be assumed to be a normal part of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Brewster.
“Don’t forget about the caregiver’s sleep, because when one person is up at night, someone else usually is too,” says Soffler. “Caregiver exhaustion is real, and it’s okay to ask for help.”
