Perils of sleep deprivation

ONE of the most common complaints you’d hear from a caregiver is that they’re tired. Caregivers might still have plenty of energy and focus when they’re new to the role. Their enthusiasm may give them extraordinary strength to play the lead role without faltering.

That strength, unfortunately, cannot last indefinitely if you’re not organised and have some backup plans and resources. Caregiving for some can go on for years. As the illness or disease progresses, you’ll be faced with more challenges. And getting a good night’s sleep is one of them.

Loss of sleep that goes on over a long period of time is known to be the root of many illness and diseases like weakened immunity, diabetes, hypertension, weight gain and heart diseases.

For starters, you’ll be so tired you can’t think straight. Your mind feels foggy; concentrating and thinking clearly and quickly become difficult. When you’re tired, your mood also changes. It’s hard to be positive when you’re exhausted.

When all this happens, you become clumsier and have poor balance, which will affect how you walk and navigate through tricky spots. You’re more prone to accidents too, whether at home or on the road.

Imagine suffering from any or all of these and trying to help someone else. You can make mistakes with medications and dosages when you’re forgetful or get easily confused. You might not understand instructions properly when your head feels fuzzy.

Imagine trying to push the wheelchair in crowded places or manoeuvring around corners. You could hurt your loved one if you don’t handle ramps well or have no strength to control the wheelchair and its occupant. You could hurt people in your way, especially those in front of the wheelchair who often get nicked in the heel because you didn’t mind the gap.

Just about anything could go wrong when you’re not alert. Simple things like fastening the tabs of diapers for example. Then you’ll end up with the added chore of cleaning up spills and leaks. This would just worsen your day — or night for that matter.

When you’re tired, take a break. Get someone to stand in for you while you get some sleep, preferably at night. Sometimes this may not be possible, so try to nap when you can. Arrange for someone to take your shift for a few hours. Even if you can’t sleep, just try to recline flat on a bed or a couch for your power nap. Of course if you have no choice, even any chair will do.

If you’re one of those who worry or sleep eludes you because you have an active mind, try some home remedies to induce sleep, or ask your doctor for help. One of the first things to remember is to either switch off your phone or put it on sleep mode.

Don’t look at any of your electric devices like your handphone, tablets, laptop or television an hour before you sleep. Electronic devices emit blue light that tricks your brain into thinking that it is daytime, which in turn disturbs your brain’s natural sleep-wake cycles (circadian rhythm). Learn to wind down. If you need to do something before you sleep, read a book.

Remember not to eat or drink anything that contains caffeine like coffee, tea and sodas. Some chocolate cakes contain caffeine too because coffee is one of the secret ingredients that adds depth, making it rich and luscious.

As a caregiver, ensure that your care receiver understands that you need your sleep too so that he or she doesn’t get anxious when you’re out of sight. Many care receivers get too attached and dependent on a single caregiver that they refuse to let the person be out of their sight for long. In trying to please your loved one, you might end up sacrificing your own health and well-being.

The person who steps in while you’re resting should be properly briefed on what to do in case of emergencies, which could be anything from fainting, vomiting, hypoglycemia, falls, seizures, panic attacks or when the diapers or stoma bag detaches or overflows. There are many things too look out for — the list is endless — but some are quite specific to certain conditions.

Panic attacks are quite common for care receivers when they realise that their beloved caregiver is absent. They’d also need to learn to deal with this separation issues, even for short absences.

Care receivers need to be told that caregivers too need to take care of themselves so that they can do what they’re supposed to. In their pain and suffering, they may forget that the greater picture includes other people in the equation; it’s not always entirely about looking after the sick one.

In a situation of the sick receiving care, we need to look out for each other. Sleep is essential for everyone, not just for healing but also to maintain optimal health.