“The scientific evidence is clear that sleep is essential to your health, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to make sleep health a priority. Start to think about sleep as an everyday habit—just like your physical activity and diet. How will you prepare for sleep tonight? How do you feel during the day? Simple everyday reflections like this are the first step to prioritising your sleep health. Start today!” - Dr. Fang Han, Co-Chair of World Sleep Day
On 14th March we mark World Sleep Day, with the theme in 2025 being ‘Make Sleep Health a Priority’. Prioritising sleep is crucial for everyone, but especially for older adults, where quality rest directly impacts well-being and overall health. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the benefits of good sleep include:
As we age it is common to experience changes in the quality of our sleep, which can have a negative effect on our health and wellbeing. So, how can carers and care providers play a crucial role in helping older people achieve the improved sleep quality?
Summary: Key Steps to Better Resident Sleep
This article provides practical steps for care homes to improve resident sleep quality, including optimising the environment, encouraging physical activity, promoting regular routines, ensuring night-time safety, managing nutrition, and monitoring medication.
Circadian rhythm is the body's natural 24-hour internal clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, and other bodily functions. It responds mainly to light and darkness, helping us feel awake during the day and sleepy at night. Research published in the National Library of Medicine suggests that many older people have insufficient exposure to natural light, sometimes as little as 1 hour per day or even less if living in a care facility.
How can the living environment be improved to increase elderly sleep quality?
✅During the daytime, maximise natural light through large windows, conservatories and accessible gardens.
✅Reduce any artificial light, such as those emitted from high-wattage bulbs and blue light emitted from device screens. Artificial light can also be problematic as it can suppress the body’s production of melatonin, the hormone which aids sleep.
✅Maintain a cool and dark room with optimal bedroom temperature at 18°C.
✅Ensure that beds are comfortable, and that everything from the mattress to the topper and pillows are good quality and in good condition.
Exercise is one of the best ways to have restful sleep, as it releases endorphins (the ‘happy hormone’) which reduce stress, a known sleep inhibitor. Even if your residents have mobility issues, even low-impact activities help. Exercises can include:
You can find out more fun physical activities from movement specialist, Joël that you can immediately do with your grandpa, grandma, child, or with residents in your care homes.
A study at Northwestern University found that aerobic exercise resulted in the most dramatic improvement in quality of sleep, including sleep duration, for middle-aged and older adults with a diagnosis of insomnia.
Our ‘Activities’ module helps you to plan person-centred pastimes to engage and stimulate residents, as well as plan activities for your entire home. This helps with digital care records and tracking resident activities, so that patterns in their exercise and sleep routines can be identified and addressed if they change.
Ensure that your residents have quiet time to relax and wind down before bed, with access to warm, non-caffeinated drinks if required.
In addition to ensuring that residents’ bedroom environments are conducive to good sleep, it is important to provide a room which is safe for them during the night. There are several actions which can be taken to reduce the risk of bedroom falls and accidents, and make it easier to call for help if required. These include:
Good nutrition is important at every stage of life, but particularly so as we age. Promoting and monitoring good nutrition is part of managing a care facility, and can also help residents to sleep well.
Alcohol and caffeine should be avoided late in the day wherever possible. It is far better to offer a warm decaffeinated or milky drink and a light snack. In fact, you should read about Care England and Bramley Court’s study on caffeine reduction for care home residents and staff.
Reducing intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates will also help, as these can cause wakefulness at night; whilst big meals and/or spicy foods can cause indigestion.
In 2019, Age UK reported that almost two million people over 65 were likely to be taking at least seven prescribed medicines, doubling to approaching four million for those taking at least five medicines.
Many of these medications, whilst vital, can contribute to sleep issues either independently or when combined. Care providers will have a clear record of residents’ prescribed medications through their care management system, but it is important to monitor and record any side effects which occur, including reduced sleep.
In conclusion, promoting better sleep is one of the most important things care providers can do for their residents. As Dr. Lourdes DelRosso, Co-Chair of World Sleep Day, states: “Waking up feeling fully rested is one of the greatest sensations in the world. Imagine how energising that feels—your mind refreshed, your body recharged, and your resilience stronger than ever. Prioritising your sleep health is the key to maintaining that energy and thriving every day!”
With the right environment, routines, nutrition, and technology, care homes can ensure that sleep health remains a priority—this World Sleep Day and beyond.
Many aspects related to improving sleep require both planning and monitoring, which can be aided by a comprehensive care management system (CMS) such as PredicAire. PredicAire is the first holistic CMS to utilise artificial intelligence (Ai) to predict and prevent unnecessary outcomes. Its components include care planning, activities, nutrition, and maintenance, whilst integration with Electronic Medication Administration Recording (eMAR) is being planned.
Learn how PredicAire can help you improve resident sleep quality. Request a demo today.
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