Health Tip: When Alzheimer’s Affects Sleep

Health Tip: When Alzheimer's Affects Sleep

(HealthDay News) — Some people with Alzheimer’s disease — characterized by a loss of brain tissue — have trouble sleeping and/or nighttime wandering.

The National Sleep Foundation suggests how to improve sleep in people with Alzheimer’s:

  • Make sure the sleep environment is as cool and dark as possible.
  • Create a consistent schedule of waking and going to bed.
  • Expose the person with Alzheimer’s to bright light soon after waking.
  • As bedtime nears, keep lighting dim.
  • Establish regular and simple routines to complete daily chores.
  • Make sure the home environment is safe — with no knives, guns or matches in reach.
  • Keep a relatively busy schedule of activities.
  • Get some daily exercise.