What to Do if You're Overly Tired as a Family Caregiver

By Andy Niska | December 9, 2016 |

Senior Care in Liberty Lake WA

Many family caregivers describe themselves as tired or exhausted. Being too sleepy for too long can be just as bad as having a few alcoholic drinks too many, though. So figuring out your sleep issue is essential.

You Have to Make Sleep a Priority

For some family caregivers, being tired all the time is a simple matter of having too much to do and attempting to handle it all alone. When that happens, one of the first things to get taken off the list is sleep, because it’s something that you can control to a certain extent. If that’s the case for you, you have to change your thinking about sleep. It has to become a priority for you so that you’re not always leaving it off of your “must do” list.

Talk to Your Doctor, Especially if Your Sleep Problems Don’t Have to Do with Caregiving

If your problems with sleep don’t stem from caregiving issues, then you need to start out with a conversation with your doctor. What this can mean is that anxiety, stress, or even depression could be keeping you awake at night. Your doctor can pin down the cause so that you can start to get the sleep that you need.

Talk to Your Loved One’s Doctor

On the other hand, if your sleep problems do have to do with caregiving, you might need to talk to your loved one’s doctor first. If your loved one wakes you up often in the middle of the night, for example, there could be medical reasons for those actions. Pinpointing causes, whether those causes are medication side effects or other causes, can help you to get to sleep yourself.

Figure out How to Work Extra Sleep into Your Day

Getting your own necessary sleep can be tricky. You might have to start working a nap into each day, for instance. Your naps might correlate with your loved one’s senior care providers arriving or even a daily visit from another family member. However it works for you to get a little bit more sleep is worth investigating.

Once you have a plan that works, stick to it. Modify the plan as you need to in order to accommodate your changing needs.

If you or an aging loved one are considering in-home senior care in Liberty Lake, WA, please contact the friendly staff at Love at Home Senior Care, today. Call (509) 204-4088

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Andy Niska

Owner at Love In Home Senior Care

Andy has over 20+ years experience in the medical community and has a true compassion for seniors. With a degree in Health Care Administration, he developed a background in a variety of health care services that only comes from first hand experience. While working as a manager of a large clinic and as an account executive for medical suppliers. Andy has built valuable relationships with the medical community.

His role in Love In Home Senior Care is to educate people on what care choice is the best fit for the senior and their family while attempting to make this decision as stress-free as possible for everyone involved.

This decision making process should be smooth and stress free for everyone, including all family members and their loved ones. Having access to people with experience (like the team at Love In Home Senior Care) to assist you along the way can help this process. With an extensive background in health care, Andy has the experience needed to guide and direct your loved one to the choice that is the best fit.