Promoting Healthy Sleep for Seniors
Aging is an inevitable part of life, and as we get older our sleeping habits change, often beyond our control. In order to promote safe, good quality sleeping patterns, it’s important to understand the impacts of age and health on our sleep, as well as how the right bedding for seniors can help support a healthy night’s sleep.
Age-related sleeping issues
Changes in physical activity regimes post-retirement and loss of social independence can contribute to poor sleep for seniors. Combined with potential ill health, this can impact not just quality of life but also the quality of sleep. Common age-related sleeping issues can include:
- Daytime napping: while daytime naps can be beneficial in small doses, extended sleeping through the day can adversely affect nighttime sleep patterns, making it harder to get to sleep and stay asleep through the night.
- Changing sleep schedules: circadian rhythms influence our daily cycles, from eating to sleeping. Changes in this, as well as age-related discomfort, illness and activity, affect the ability to sleep in the patterns we are used to. This makes us more tired in the afternoon and early evening, with earlier morning waking.
- Less resiliency to changes in sleep patterns: adults over 65 still require seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Disrupted sleep due to the inability to fall asleep or because of travel can take seniors longer to recover from.
Health and physical wellbeing
As we get older, it can become harder to sleep due to physical and mental ill health and discomfort. Side effects from medications can also play a part in this. Changes in our body clocks and reduced production of hormones such as cortisol and melatonin can not only contribute to poorer sleep quality but also illness as our bodies age. Common conditions include arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and an increased susceptibility to winter ailments such as influenza and respiratory viruses.
It’s important for seniors to have an environment around them that supports general wellbeing. Adequate exposure to daylight promotes the body’s response to changes in circadian rhythms. Likewise, the right aged care linen and bedding will help promote a good night’s sleep which is crucial to ensuring ongoing health and life quality.
Zipsheets - the ideal bedding for seniors
Having the right bedding for seniors helps support a healthy and safe night’s sleep. Zipsheets are premium quality and available in 100% lightweight cotton and flannelette, as well as a range of sizes including single, king single, double and queen. Our sheets are double stitched, and come with robust long zippers either side for ease of entry and exit from bed.
Zipsheets help promote healthy sleep for seniors by:
- Eliminating waking up in the night due to tangled sheets
- Minimising the risk of falling out of bed, which can lead to physical injuries
- Promoting a warm and comfortable night’s sleep without sheets that will slip or slide off
The zippered topsheet ensures that making the bed is a lot easier and quicker than ever before, and they are quick and easy to remove, and are fully machine washable.
Shop the Zipsheets range today. You'll discover that they provide easy perfect access and independence, and help promote healthy sleep for seniors.