COVID-19 Information - Click Here
Skip to Content
Homewatch CareGivers
LocationsIcon of Map Pin
  • Caregiver Jobs
  • Franchise Opportunities
  • Care Community Blog
  • Contact Us
close
  • Back
  • Home
  • About Home Care
    • Back
    • What is Home Care
    • Types of Care
    • Financing Options
    • Cost
    About Home Care Homewatch CareGivers® believes good care should not interfere with your quality of life. We deliver the compassionate care our clients need to help complete day-to-day activities while still maintaining a healthy dose of independence.
  • Types of Care
    • Back
    • Elder Care
    • 24-Hour Care
    • Child Care
    • Respite Care
    • Senior Transportation Services
    • Companion Care
    • Hospital Discharge
    • Chronic Conditions Care
    • Dementia Care
    • Nursing Services
    • After Surgery Care
    • Personal Care
    Types of Care Our clients have many different reasons for requiring care, so we strive to provide services tailored to their individual needs and circumstances. Homewatch CareGivers delivers various types of in-home care that focus on the whole person—not just their condition.
  • Resources
    • Back
    • ALS
    • Arthritis
    • Dementia
    • Developmental Disabilities
    • Diabetes
    • Heart Disease
    • Parkinson's Disease
    • Senior Safety
    • Stroke
    • For Health Care Providers
    • Ask The Experts
  • Our Story
    • Back
    • Team Bios
    • Facts & History
    • National Quality Forum
    • In the Media
    • Home Care Association of America
    Our Story Homewatch CareGivers was founded on the concept of person-directed care: focusing on the specific needs of the individual and treating each client as a whole person, not just a condition. We strive to provide in-home care services that allow people to continue living safely and happily in their own homes.
  • Why Choose Us?
    • Back
    • Our Caregivers
    • Questions to Ask
    • Homewatch CareGivers University
    • Client Testimonials
    • In-Home Senior Safety
    Why Choose Us? Let our family care for yours. At Homewatch CareGivers, we value not only highly qualified caregiving services but also human interactions and relationships. Our people make the difference.
LocationsIcon of Map Pin

Is There a Connection Between Good Sleep and Alzheimer's?

Is There a Connection Between Good Sleep and Alzheimer's? Dec 4, 2013
Blog Categories
  • COVID-19
  • A Business with a cause
  • Addressing Isolation & Loneliness
  • Age at home
  • Age in place
  • Aging at Home
  • Aging Parent
  • aging parents
  • animal therapy
  • Anxiety Support
  • Best Home Care
  • Care for Aging Parents
  • Care for My Aging Parent
  • Caregiver
  • Caregiver Assistance
  • Caregiver Stress
  • caregiving assistance
  • caring star
  • caring star award
  • caring.com
  • caring.com award
  • Coping and Caregiving
  • Coronavirus
  • Cost of Care
  • Dementia
  • dementia care
  • Elderly Parent Care
  • Employee Spotlight
  • Essential Caregiver Skills
  • Events
  • Falls Prevention
  • Family Caregiver
  • Financial Resources
  • Franchise
  • Franchising
  • handling caregiver stress
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Holiday Celebration
  • Home Care
  • Home Watch Caregivers
  • Homewatch CareGivers
  • how to manage caregiver stress
  • In-Home Safety
  • Job Fair
  • Local
  • Long Term Care
  • Long Term Care Options
  • National Public Health Week
  • New Office in New Haven
  • older parents
  • parents aging
  • Parkinson’s Symptoms
  • Passion of Caregiving
  • Pet Therapy
  • Planning Ahead
  • Provider Choice Award
  • Senior Care & Aging
  • Senior Exercise
  • service dog
  • Social Distancing
  • stress
  • therapy dog
  • top rated home care agency
  • wandering

It has been known for years that people who have Alzheimer’s disease have disrupted sleep, but recently researchers examined a connection between poor sleep and the onset and progression of the disease.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health led a study that looked at the association between sleep variables and a biomarker for Alzheimer’s in older adults. The results, featured in JAMA Neurology in October, found that in a group of adults over age 70, those who slept for shorter amounts of time and had poor sleep quality also had higher levels of Beta amyloid, a brain plaque that is an indicator of Alzheimer’s.

Good Sleep and Alzheimer's

Although further study is needed to determine whether poor sleep contributes to or accelerates Alzheimer’s, experts agree that a good night’s sleep has many health benefits and people are not getting enough sleep these days—especially those who have the added responsibilities of being a family caregiver.

“Centers for Disease Control data shows that 37 percent of U.S. adults sleep less than the recommended minimum seven hours of sleep per night on weekday or work nights,” said Dr. Nathaniel Watson, MD, who serves on the board of directors for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). He is an associate professor of neurology at the University of Washington in Seattle and co-director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center.

This chronic lack of sleep for roughly a third of the population is the subject of a section of the popular Huffington Post online newspaper and a three-part series, “Advice About Sleep Deficiency in Midlife” in The New York Times. The bottom line: people need more quality sleep to improve their health and overall well-being at every age and stage of life.

The National Sleep Foundation states on their website: “Studies have found a relationship between the quantity and quality of one's sleep and many health problems. For example, insufficient sleep affects growth hormone secretion that is linked to obesity; as the amount of hormone secretion decreases, the chance for weight gain increases. Blood pressure usually falls during the sleep cycle, however, interrupted sleep can adversely affect this normal decline, leading to hypertension and cardiovascular problems. Research has also shown that insufficient sleep impairs the body's ability to use insulin, which can lead to the onset of diabetes. More and more scientific studies are showing correlations between poor and insufficient sleep and disease.”

Our connected world may be one cause of poor sleep. “Sleep deprivation in our society can be contributed to many factors including the media we constantly consume and our 24-hour economy,” said Dr. Watson. “We have all types of media at our fingertips these days – from hundreds of TV channels to our computers and smartphones. Overuse of these mediums can lead to sleep deprivation, as well as difficulty falling asleep due to exposure to the light they emit that is signaling to your body that it’s time to be awake.” (For those who can’t put down the gadgets, see our December blog post about apps for caregiving, including some which claim to assist with relaxation and possibly sleep.)

In addition, family caregivers can miss a great deal of sleep due to their responsibilities of caring for someone else—especially for people who may be getting up often at night.

“Family caregivers can benefit from sleep in the most basic sense because they will be more energetic and alert during the waking hours to keep a sharp eye on the person they’re caring for and be able to keep up with the often strenuous tasks that caregivers undertake,” said Dr. Watson.

The rule of thumb for the amount of sleep needed for adults, according to the National Sleep Foundation, is about seven to nine hours. However, individuals need to assess their own sleep needs and habits.

Sleep Tips

For an optimum night’s sleep, Dr. Watson recommends:

  • Exposure to as much daylight as possible during the day, and as much darkness as possible during the night.
  • Have consistent bedtimes, wake times, and meal times, and socializing time.
  • Try to avoid psychotropic medications that may cause disorientation at night (for caregivers, it is recommended that the person they are caring for avoid these medications, if possible).

In general, the National Sleep Foundation suggests that people get regular exercise, avoid caffeine close to bedtime and use the bedroom for sleep and sex only (no TV or computer in the bedroom).

When a person has been losing sleep over an extended period of time—such as providing additional care for a loved one—it can take time to feel rested again and learn how to get good sleep again.

“There is a myth that people can catch up on sleep on the weekends, but it takes more than two days to get back to a rested state,” said Dr. Watson, noting that suddenly sleeping longer hours after a period of sleeping just a few hours does not automatically shift the circadian rhythms.

For those trying to establish good sleep patterns after a significant sleep loss, or for the first time, Dr. Watson said that they need to establish good “sleep hygiene,” a set of bedtime habits and rituals done nightly to improve sleep.

“Our daily routines – what we eat and drink, how and when we exercise, the drugs and medicines we consume, how we schedule our days – can significantly affect the amount and the quality of the sleep we get,” he said. “People should make adjustments to their daily routines if necessary to get the appropriate amount of sleep. If they are still having difficulty getting back to sleep over the period of a few weeks, they can consult a board-certified sleep physician to discuss potential

Posted By Homewatch CareGivers
  • Share
Blog Home - Previous Post | Next Post
More Posts Like This
  • It’s a Match! Caregiver-Client Relationships
    Feb 24, 2021

    It’s a Match! Caregiver-Client Relationships

    Caregiving is about more than just one person fulfilling a list of a tasks; it’s about human relationships and connection.

    Read More
  • Top Five Types of Home Care
    Feb 24, 2021

    Top Five Types of Home Care

    Home care is not just one thing, but instead an umbrella term under which there are many types of care for many different types of needs and people. Learn about elder care, respite care, personal care, dementia care, and after-surgery care.

    Read More
  • Developmental Disabilities and Home Care
    Feb 24, 2021

    Developmental Disabilities and Home Care

    People who are living with developmental disabilities often need a professional caregiver in addition to family member support.

    Read More
Homewatch CareGivers Caregiving Services
Find Your Location Homewatch CareGivers is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Help & Info
  • About Homecare
  • Types of Care
  • Financing Options & Programs
  • Our Resources
  • Owner Login
Our Company
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Caregiver Jobs
  • Blog
  • Franchise Opportunities
Other
  • National Homepage Homewatch CareGivers University Login Privacy Policy Site Map
  • Accessibility Notice
  • HIPAA Disclaimer
  • Do Not Sell My Information - California Residents
Follow Us On

Part of the Authority Brands Family

Authority Brands is the leading provider of in-home services, building brands that support the success of franchisees as well as better the lives of the homeowners we serve and the people we employ.
/
Copyright © 2021 | Homewatch CareGivers® is a trademark owned by Homewatch International, Inc.™ and licensed for use to independently-owned franchised businesses that offer caregiver services to the public. All personal services, elderly care, caregiving and home care services offered OR provided under the Homewatch CareGivers™ mark are offered and provided only by independently-owned franchises and, where required, licensed OR registered businesses and care agencies. Scorpion Franchise Internet Marketing
x

⚠

Your browser is out of date. To get the full experience of this website, please update to most recent version.

Update My Browser