38. Studying Sleep Early in the Dementia Journey: Five Essential Tips / Alzheimer’s and Dementias

Do you wish you could get a good night’s sleep? We do too!

We are Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster. As caregivers for our loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, we appreciate the insights Dr. Glenna Brewster, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, Assistant Professor at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, shared for all of us about her sleep study titled SLEEPMATE, and how we can all create good sleep habits.

Dr. Glenna Brewster’s background is impressive, and her passion for good sleep is inspiring! In addition to her responsibilities as a professor, she is a nurse scientist, family nurse practitioner, and she leads the Emory University Mind at Rest research team, which develops and tests practical, evidence-based programs to reduce sleep problems and improve health outcomes for people living with memory loss or dementia and their caregivers.

Good sleep isn’t just for your care receiver, this is for you too!

According to Dr. Brewster:
Sleep problems, especially if you’re a caregiver or person living with cognitive impairment, are significant. You might have a hard time falling asleep, wake up multiple times during the night, or notice that as the disease progresses there is daytime sleepiness. Sleep disturbances are prevalent both in care partners or caregivers and people living with cognitive impairment.

Dr. Brewster has developed the SLEEPMATE study for caregivers and people living with cognitive impairment and types of dementia. It’s a six-week virtual intervention where you participate together. The study examines whether the intervention is feasible, acceptable, and if it improves sleep outcomes. At the end of this blog post is the link you can use if you’re interested in participating in this virtual study.

This topic is incredibly valuable for us as caregivers. We’ve learned the need for quality sleep — and what not having it is like. We’ve also learned that we’re often so focused on quality sleep for our care receiver, we don’t prioritize our own sleep as caregivers!

One important take-away from Dr. Brewster for caregivers it’s so easy not to consider — or to lose sight of:
Your quality of sleep is every bit as important — and sometimes even more — important than your care receiver’s.

Full Show Notes
https://thecaregiversjourney.org/38-s...

Additional Resources Mentioned
For more information about joining this study, visit mindatrest.org/contact/.
Support the nonprofit The Caregiver's Journey: https://give.cornerstone.cc/thecaregi...

Takeaways
Tip 1: Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Keep consistent sleep and wake times
Watch your caffeine intake
Limit evening substances
Time your exercise right
Manage fluid intake
Tip 2: Limit Daytime Naps
If you must nap: Keep it to less than 30 minutes and before 3 p.m.
Quiet rest is okay: Sue used to sit quietly with her eyes shut for 5-10 minutes with a phone timer—this relaxation time is fine and helpful for decompressing during the day.
For care receivers: As the disease progresses, they may want to sleep more during the day. Sometimes after diagnosis, they stop doing activities and tend to sit around and sleep. Here's what helps:
Keep them engaged
Let them help
Use familiar activities
Tip 3: Make Your Bedroom Like a Cave
Cool
Dark
Quiet
Tip 4: Schedule Worry Time Earlier in the Day
Schedule dedicated worry time
Deal with it before bed
If worries arise at night
For quick notes
For major concerns
Tip 5: Keep Your Bedroom for the Three S's
Make the bedroom the bedroom. Keep your bedroom for the three S's: Sleep, sickness and sex.
No phone scrolling
Remove the television
No work or reading
Train your brain
About the SLEEP-MATE Study
Dr. Brewster's study is recruiting pairs. The person who is receiving the care doesn't have to be diagnosed with dementia, just have a complaint or an experience of cognitive changes. Caregivers or care partners—different people want to be called different things based on where in the dementia journey they are—both people participating, both having some type of sleep disturbance or sleep problems.
That could be difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep (meaning that you fall asleep and then you wake up, and when you wake up, you have a hard time falling back asleep), or significant daytime sleepiness or some other type of impairment during the day. It's for people who are living within the contiguous US. Each of you gets an honorarium for participating as a thank you for your time and investment in participating in the study.
If you have any questions or want to find out more about the study, please reach out at 404-712-9164 or you can check out their lab's website at www.mindatrest.org.

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