Why Changing Bedtime Personal Care Routines Can Be Hard for Older Adults
Your parent may have followed essentially the same bedtime routine for decades. Wash up, brush teeth, change into pajamas, take care of dentures, comb hair, and get ready for bed.
When some of those tasks become harder, it might seem logical to simply change the routine. But familiar habits can provide a comforting end to the day, and personal care at home can help seniors continue them when they need assistance with certain steps.
For an adult child, the key is understanding that the routine itself may matter almost as much as the individual tasks.
Bedtime Habits Can Be Deeply Familiar
Most people don’t give much thought to the order in which they get ready for bed. They simply do what they’ve always done.
Your mom might wash her face before brushing her teeth. Dad may always change into pajamas before taking care of his dentures. Your parent may prefer to brush their hair, apply moisturizer, or complete another small grooming ritual before getting into bed.
When assistance becomes necessary, there’s often no reason to completely rearrange these habits.
Keeping familiar parts of the routine can make accepting help feel less disruptive. Instead of creating an entirely new process, assistance can fit into the routine your parent already recognizes and prefers.
Why Evenings May Be More Difficult
A task your parent manages easily in the morning can feel very different at 9 p.m.
By bedtime, Mom may have spent the day moving around the house, preparing meals, attending an appointment, visiting family, or simply completing normal daily activities. Dad may have less energy for standing, bending, changing clothes, or completing several grooming tasks in a row.
That can lead to shortcuts.
You might notice that your parent:
- Falls asleep in daytime clothing rather than changing for bed
- Skips brushing teeth or caring for dentures at night
- Stops washing their face or completing usual grooming
- Leaves nighttime personal care until they’re already exhausted
- Becomes frustrated when several tasks need to be completed before bed
- Starts going to bed without completing routines that were once automatic
These changes don’t necessarily mean your parent has stopped caring about personal hygiene. They may simply have less energy available at the end of the day.
Starting Earlier May Help
Sometimes bedtime personal care becomes difficult because everything is left until the last few minutes before getting into bed.
Your parent doesn’t necessarily have to complete every task immediately before sleeping.
If evenings are tiring, changing into pajamas earlier may feel easier. Washing up and completing oral care before becoming exhausted can make the end of the night more manageable. Your parent can still keep the general rhythm of the routine without forcing every task into a short period.
The goal isn’t to create a strict new schedule. It’s to find a pace that works for your parent.
Keep Their Preferences in the Routine
When you’re worried about an aging parent, it’s natural to focus on whether personal care tasks are getting done. But how they’re done can matter too.
Before changing a familiar bedtime routine, find out what your parent wants to preserve.
That might include:
- Wearing a favorite type of pajamas or nightgown
- Following personal care tasks in a familiar order
- Using preferred soap, toothpaste, lotion, or other products
- Caring for dentures the way they normally do
- Combing or brushing hair before bed
- Having enough time to complete tasks without feeling rushed
These details may seem small, but they can help bedtime continue to feel like your parent’s routine rather than a process someone else has created for them.
Provide Help Where the Routine Breaks Down
Your parent may not need assistance with every bedtime task.
Perhaps Mom can wash her face, brush her teeth, and care for her hair but needs help changing clothes. Dad may manage most of the routine independently but need assistance with bathing and getting ready afterward.
Personal care at home can provide help with bathing, grooming, oral hygiene, dressing, and other activities of daily living according to a senior’s needs. Assistance can focus on the portions of the bedtime routine that have become difficult while allowing your parent to continue doing what they comfortably can.
This approach can also help adult children avoid automatically taking over.
If Dad still wants to brush his own teeth or Mom wants to comb her own hair, those familiar tasks can remain theirs.
A Familiar Ending to the Day
Bedtime routines are ordinary, but that’s exactly why they can matter so much. They provide a familiar transition between the activity of the day and settling in for the night.
If your parent’s routine starts falling apart, look at what is making it difficult before deciding it needs to be completely changed. Fatigue, reduced mobility, or simply having too much to do at once may be getting in the way.
With personal care at home, seniors can receive help with the challenging portions while continuing the bedtime habits that still work for them. Sometimes preserving a familiar routine, with a little assistance added where needed, is easier than replacing it.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Personal Care at Home Services in the Kansas City, MO area, please contact the caring staff at Elder Care of Kansas City today.
Proudly serving Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas for over 30 years.
Prior to purchasing Elder Care, Kevin spent over 20 years in the health insurance industry.In his most recent position, he was in a financial operations role with Humana where he worked with doctors, nurses and other health professionals developing programs to keep Humana members healthy.Their focus on primary care and medication adherence improved the lives of thousands of seniors in Kansas City and the surrounding area.
Kevin and his wife, Lori, have three children.Kevin has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri.
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