The Clocks are Changing- How does the change in time affect everyone but especially our elderly and people living with advanced needs.
Here at Honest Senior Care we all have a duty of care to make sure that we support not only our Clients, but their families and our staff when changes occur on a day to day basis.
On Sunday 27th October 2024 at 2am, our clocks will be pushed back by 1 hour, meaning we get an extra hour in bed. Which to some means a well-deserved lie in, but to others this becomes a challenge especially for those who have young children our elderly and people who are living with advanced needs.
As the clocks fall back and the mornings and evenings are much darker, people who live with different conditions such as:
· Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
· multiple sclerosis
· Parkinson’s disease
· epilepsy
· and sleep disorders
Will find these changes disorientating and sometimes cause anxiety, confusion and distress.
Differentiating between times because of how dark the mornings and evenings are will disrupt their biological clock and make it hard for them and those who care for them to get enough sleep.
Some tips to help your elders, people living with advanced needs families and importantly yourself:
· Be PREPARED- Think about doing things a little bit earlier on Saturday evening, preparing clocks before bed to save confusion for all in the morning, go to bed slightly later this way the person’s routine will only be different for an evening rather than a full day. But this is to be only done if its right for you and the person you are looking after- their needs still need to be fulfilled and there routines be kept.
· Keep in a routine- try and keep in a well-established routine. Get fresh air- Getting outside and exercising to reset your internal body clock, If you cannot get the person outside make sure there is plenty of light in their home.
· Use of a Dual Digital display clock/ Talking Clock- these clocks automatically change to the correct time- This is a reassuring item for all, but especially people who live with different conditions, it is clear and there are also different settings for light and size of text.
· Make sure you have everything ready for your day ahead. It is always best to be prepared.
· Remember Car clocks- Many Cars will NOT automatically change, please make sure that we check our cars as we do not want a panic whilst we are driving.
Remember at this time of year there are also different changes and festivities that will be happening within the next few months.
Please Keep calm, be mindful of repetitive questions, confusion and distress.
We are all in this together and here to support you all.
For any help and further advice please ring the office and we will be more than happy to assist you.
Honest Senior Care.
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