The National Center for Biotechnology Information reports a rise in sleep issues among the elderly. Age-related sleep disturbances are reported by almost half of older persons. Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep condition among the elderly. Older adults often have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep during the night. Nevertheless, only approximately 24% of young people have this disease.
Among the additional causes of insomnia are:
- personal difficulties (divorce, widowhood);
- low income level;
- unhealthy lifestyle (drinking alcohol, smoking, and not exercising enough);
- anxiety and stress;
- health issues
There is a considerable probability that this issue will progress to chronic insomnia if nothing is done to treat it. Additionally, sleep issues worsen general wellbeing and lead to various health issues.
Many individuals turn to sleeping drugs or search for “10 methods to fall asleep” on Google. This is simply a temporary fix for the issue, though. As a result, elderly individuals start to look for expert assistance in these situations, such as from sleep coaches.
We’ll explain the role of the sleep coach and how you can take use of it.
Who are sleep coaches?
An expert in sleep management is available. They are called trainers for a reason since they carefully research potential insomnia triggers while working one-on-one with each patient.
Such an expert can schedule a consultation with you not only at his office but also via online platforms and applications in addition to his office. There, you may communicate directly with a specialist.
A sleep coach will also review your personal situation, learn your patterns, look into your sleeping environment, and evaluate your physical and emotional health. The expert creates a thorough action plan for you to resume getting quality sleep based on the data. You receive a customized strategy based on your life decisions and health status rather than simply the generic responses you may find online.
What if you could get a sleep coach app that would act as your very own personal sleep coach without having to leave your home? The same outcome can be obtained without seeing an expert for therapy sessions. No matter the time or location, you may communicate with your sleep coach. The software is far less expensive than offline visits, which may run upwards of $100 per.
The Function of a Sleep Coach
Utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy to treat insomnia
Not all sleep coaches have experience with this kind of therapy. However, as CBT has established itself as the gold standard in psychology and is frequently used to treat insomnia, more psychologists are beginning to adopt it.
Cognitive and behavioral components comprise this type of treatment. Patients initially develop new coping mechanisms to deal with sleep issues as they learn to identify the thoughts and beliefs that might impair the quality of their sleep. The patient might not be aware of these aspects, which can occasionally be subconscious.
Behavior modification is the second phase of treatment. This involves giving up sleep-inducing routines or activities. This phase also include completing the therapist’s assignment (e.g. keeping a diary of thoughts).
Maintaining Good Sleep Habits and Improving the Environment
Everyone is aware that working or eating in bed, as well as looking through social media before night, is bad. However, it might be challenging to quit these unhealthy behaviors at times. Through a set of beneficial routines known as sleep hygiene, a sleep coach aids you in enhancing the quality of your sleep.
In addition to this, they assist in altering the sleeping environment. They could advise getting light-blocking blackout curtains, removing the TV from the bedroom, rising at the same time, and many other things.
Changes Eating Patterns
According to an NIH study, eating certain meals can increase sleep length, quality, and efficiency while lowering sleep latency. Milk (which contains tryptophan), cherries (which contain melatonin and serotonin), and others are among these goods.
An expert sleep coach may help you identify problematic eating patterns and may advise you to eat more or less before bed, include melatonin-rich foods in your evening snack, and other changes.
Teaches breathing exercises
Most of the time, individuals overlook the necessity of getting ready for sleep. A regular sleep schedule is crucial since it aids in separating day from night, putting an end to racing thoughts, and relaxing before bed.
The sleep coach provides physical activities, breathing exercises, meditation, mindfulness exercises, and relaxation techniques to promote restful sleep. Simple yet effective relaxation practices like the 4-7-8 breathing cycle, body scanning, and gratitude walks promote healthy relaxation before bed.
Identifies little issues that are keeping you from sleeping
Consider a scenario in which you have no trouble falling asleep and sleep for more than 8 hours each night, yet you do not wake up feeling rested.
There might be a number of causes for it, including a stifling bedroom or a lack of oxygen caused by apnea. A sleep coach can assist in identifying these causes and advises consulting a physician or maintaining better sleep hygiene.
Conclusion
The road to a happy and healthy life might be obstructed by a lack of good-quality sleep. Finding the issue on your own can be challenging because it might be caused by a variety of factors, including poor sleep hygiene, daily stress, or any one of hundreds of other things. An expert, like a sleep coach, should handle a situation like this because it might result in other health issues.
The specialist assists in determining the root reasons and creating a personalized approach for resuming sound sleep. When and when it suits you, you may speak with an expert offline or use an app to contact with a sleep coach for less money.