I slept very well for years, until I moved in with my elderly father eight years ago. It didn't take long for my regular sleep routine to get messed up. Although he passed away in early 2014, I still have a horrible time getting decent sleep and am plagued with sleep apnea among other problems mentioned above. Now, somehow I need to turn as much around as I can to regain my health and start sleeping better or I'm not going to live as long as either of my parents. I can see the writing on the wall.

While I agree that a good night's sleep is important for caregivers, if you are a sole caregiver it may be elusive. You don't want to sleep so soundly that you miss the elder's call for help. I found I was up and down on average ever 1 1/2 hours to turn or in other ways help the elder. When I felt very sleepy and down, I would ask the long term care agency to send a home health aide for a 11-7 shift so I could focus solely on sleep. This inadequate way of providing for my health put demands on the funds set aside for home health aides for the month. Thus you try to limit this extra "expense" at the expense of your health. If you are of middle class means, no program is out there to cover these costs, which is something which should be addressed nationally. Sleep is important but after months and years of short nights or interrupted sleep, you don't even realize how extremely sleepy you are. If you miss one or two nights sleep you feel it, 20 or 30 nights sleep you oddly do not.
It is a problem.

(Continued) I have a hearing impairment so we have a system where she calls me on my cellphone if she needs anything overnight (I keep it next to me in bed).We also sleep on separate floors so I have to go downstairs. I want to know if anyone has any strategies that may be helpful for me . Oh I almost forgot, during the week, the one year old's 11 year old brother stays with us overnight because his parents' work schedules and the baby don't allow them to drive him to school We live a few blocks away from the school so he walks most of the time.

My aunt is 76 and has had 2 strokes. I have lived with her since I was young, although I had my own apartment on and off when various other living arrangements didn't work out. She was the head of the house (still is, actually) but I now take care of the "physical" work. She is also occasional babysitter for her 1-year-old great-grandson and his 11-year-old brother. I have no time to sleep because she is always calling me for something.

My mom cared many years for her mom. She was able to split the time with her siblings, thus was able to rest between her weekly shifts. My husband and I have his father 24/7 and I can see the toll it takes on my husband when he had some sleepless weeks recently. I was getting worried for my husband running on 2 hour naps here and there. We have a 2-1/2 year old too, and it disrupts her sleep too sometimes, but I can generally get her back to sleep. She was sleeping through the night until recently, reminds us of her newborn nights.

We absolutely need all the sleep we can! I learned this the hard way, because if you don't get as much (quality) sleep as you can, it can perpetuate to the point of getting sick! You wear down your immune system. So please give yourself the gift of sleep whenever possible.

Thank you Mike.

My wife had a massive stroke and i am now her full time care giver.
Thank God for the book "My stroke of Insight" by Dr.Jill Taylor.
Sleep for the care giver along with good nutrition and some personal time is critical to maintain good health.
I also pray, take minerals and vitamins otherwise I would have collapsed after 24/7 of this duty.
Hot showers are my reward almost daily.
Take care....

Yes, I am so tired. I am the caregiver Fri nite to Monday morning, for my mother who is 95. She sleeps most of the day and refuses to engage in daytime activities(stting outside for some air, riding with me to do errands etc.) At night she wants a snack, go to the bathroom or wants conversation. I tried to sleep when she does but it is difficult.

My husbands daughter had her dad sign a POA then a bill of sale all on the same day saying every thing we had in the house was his even things I had before I met him and then I had to fight for my things because she said she had a bill of sale I had to produce my bill of sale for my king and queen mattress and springs that she swore was hers I did get them, but when the judge said name every thing you want I "said everything that is mine" when I named a few thing and then I went blank I had not had any sleep for 2 days and nights and she got every things else that I did not name when I ask the judge what about my shed he holds up a piece of paper where I name my things and said it is not on this paper so she got my $3500 dollar shed which I had a buyer for to put my husband in a nursing home and his daughter runs Florence Nursing Service and never offered any help for me to take care of her father She had already clean out the house of what she wanted and what she did not want she threw away even my murdered son' pictures that could not be replaced.