- We all need a good night's sleep to live a healthy life, but after a dementia diagnosis, the long dark hours can be so challenging. I'm Jim Rogers, and this is Hold The Moment, a podcast from Dementia Australia. Since my own diagnosis of younger-onset Alzheimer's, I often wake up, sometimes a little disorientated or unsure of my surroundings. Some of you might be experiencing bad dreams as well. We've done a whole episode of Hold The Moment about sleep.
You'll meet Anne, who spent a lot of time trying to get better rest, and if you haven't heard that episode yet, do find it in your podcast feed, but this is our sleep bonus episode with advice from the National Dementia Helpline, a free service available 24-hours a day if you need some support. Here's one of their advisors, Kristin, with some tips for a better night's sleep. - When you wake up in the night, you might feel a bit confused and disoriented, and that can feel a bit scary.
There are some things that you might want to try that help you feel more comfortable when you wake up in the night. Leaving on a nightlight that guides you towards the toilet, or a favourite reading chair, or a place where you might listen to some music. It might also be helpful if you start to feel confused or disoriented. Just take a moment to close your eyes and take a breath, and as your worries melt a little bit, it might feel easier to figure out what to do next.
It might be helpful to keep your bedroom as clear as possible. It'll make it easier for you to navigate if you need to leave your room, and it might be less confusing with unusual shadows or shapes. If you find that you are waking up in the night, you could make some plans so that you already know ahead of time that this might happen. During the day, you could get together some of the things that help you relax, that make you feel good.
Maybe you've got a favourite chair, a favourite blanket, photos of some of your favourite people, and you could put them there ready, so any night that you wake up and you're not feeling a hundred percent, you've got a place that you can go to where you can feel good and feel safe. It's great that you've noticed that your sleep is changing and you're wondering what might be causing it.
Your GP is a great place to go to talk about all of the things that could be impacting sleep, and it's really important you talk with your GP about changing anything like medication. Your GP knows you really well and can look holistically at all of the things that could be impacting on sleep, and come up with a plan to improve it for you.
If you've got any questions, or you want to talk to somebody about anything you've heard on this episode, or how to get through a sleepless night, you can contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. You'll get to speak to an advisor like me, and we're here 24-hours a day, every day of the year.