Many families experience similar problems regarding their elderly loved one’s condition. Although everyone has their own story, we all share one common thing: time. Life moves incredibly fast, and before you know it, you are thrust into the role of a caretaker for a parent, grandparent, or another family member.
On its own, caregiving will likely be the hardest job you’ll ever do. Meeting the needs of an elderly loved one that’s chronically ill can be even more challenging. Caregiving comes with tons of responsibilities and daily necessities to ensure your loved one is well taken care of, but what happens if they won’t get out of bed? This, and the uncertainty that follows, is one of many roadblocks that family caregivers face. Let’s first explore the reasons behind elderly refusal to get out of bed, and then we’ll introduce strategies that might help.
Reasons Why Your Loved One Won’t Get Out of Bed
There’s a difference between not wanting to get out of bed and being unable to get out of bed. It’s not uncommon for elders to have a hard time getting up simply because they are aging and tired. They lack energy, muscle mass, and strength. However, other reasons beyond just old age might contribute to seniors refusing to get out of bed. These include:
Considering all these potential causes and the ways each of them interacts, many experts agree that elderly disinterest in basic life activities often stems from depression. Depression is a serious illness prevalent among elders who are experiencing sudden changes in their lives. If left undetected, depression can speed up the aging process and be harmful to your loved one’s health.
Strategies to Encourage and Support Your Loved One
Now that you understand some of the potential explanations for why your loved one may resist getting out of bed, what can you do to reverse that? Identifying their triggers is only the first step, and it can take some time and professional medical assistance to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, here are some things you can do to encourage and support your loved one:
Don’t assume. Mind reading and making false assumptions about what your loved one is going through won’t be helpful. Rather, try talking to them.
Be there. Just being present in your loved one’s life can make all the difference.
Make a plan. Without a plan, or at least an activity that interests your loved one, it will be more difficult to motivate them to get moving.
Offer help. Schedule an appointment to see a doctor and tag along. Tell your loved one you’ll be right by their side.
Don’t react. It’s not easy to stay calm when you’re frustrated, but saying or doing something hurtful will only worsen the situation.
Reframe your words. Instead of just looking on the outside, try to understand the triggers that come from within. Change “what’s wrong with you?” to “are you okay?
Contact an NYC Elder Abuse Attorney for Help
Sometimes, caregiving becomes too much. It’s not that you don’t care, but you have your own obligations, and you’re not medically trained nor qualified to care for an aging loved one. Although you always knew in your heart that you’d primarily care for your loved one, the responsible thing to do is enroll your loved one in long-term care or research elderly programs, services, and resources in NYC.
Once your loved one is placed in the care of someone else, your family has the right to expect that they will be adequately cared for. When nursing homes and caregivers fail to meet quality care standards, the nursing home abuse lawyers Dalli & Marino know how to hold them accountable.
At Dalli & Marino, we represent clients throughout New York City and surrounding areas. Throughout our firm’s history, our cases have reached local coverage, highlighting the millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts we’ve won on behalf of families and their loved ones. If you need help with any care-related issues, call 888-465-8790 or complete our contact form for a free case evaluation.
If the person with Alzheimer's cannot move around on his or her own, contact a home health aide, physical therapist, or nurse for help. These professionals can show you how to move the person safely, such as changing positions in bed or in a chair.
Seek Professional Help. If your elderly parent continues to refuse to get out of bed despite your efforts, it may be necessary to seek help from a healthcare professional. A doctor or therapist can assess the situation and provide guidance on how to address any underlying medical or mental health issues.
Friends and family members can help a person find a reason to get out of bed in the morning. For example, they could arrange with the person to: wake them up at a specific time each day with some activity that requires interaction, such as a phone call or a cup of coffee.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
It can be hard to stay awake during the day after a poor night's sleep but, if possible, it's best to try to limit sleep during the day to small bursts or 'catnaps'. Otherwise the person's body clock can become very confused and this makes sleeping well during the night even harder.
If you have a really hard time, you could have something called dysania. This means you simply can't get out of bed for about 1 to 2 hours after you wake up. Doctors don't recognize it as a medical condition, as it is not an official diagnosis.
Dysania means an extreme difficulty rising from bed or an inability to leave the bed. Dysania is closely associated with clinomania, which is an obsession with or profound desire for staying in bed.
Slowly roll onto your side, push yourself up onto your hands and knees (into a crawling position) and crawl toward a sturdy chair, coffee table or couch. Another option involves turning to your side, placing your hands on the floor and pushing to bring your body into a seated position.
Set a quiet, peaceful mood in the evening to help the person relax. Keep the lights low, try to reduce the noise levels, and play soothing music if he or she enjoys it. Try to have the person go to bed at the same time each night. A bedtime routine, such as reading out loud, also may help.
If there are no signs of injury, then offer to assist the person in getting back on their feet. It's crucial that you only assist an elderly person who has fallen and not try to do it for them. If there are any signs of this being a struggle then family caregivers should ask for help at this point.
A person with late-stage Alzheimer's disease can become bedridden or chair-bound. This inability to move around can cause skin breakdown, pressure sores and "freezing" of joints. To keep skin and body healthy: Relieve body pressure and improve circulation.
Sleeping more is very common in people within the later and end-stages of dementia. A healthy sleep schedule is critical to the health, happiness, and ultimate well-being of seniors, so it's important to address this and work to support proper sleep hygiene in your loved one.
Also, note that disordered sleep is a common side effect of dementia, as the condition can disrupt natural sleep patterns. As a result, some people with dementia may also be taking sleep medications to aid in regulating sleep cycles. This can also lead to excessive sleepiness.
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