My mom sleeps sitting up. Is there a device to keep her in her chair and from getting up quickly and falling during the night?

Catcare, I don't want to sound like some Victoria mill owner or something, but the aides are paid to watch your mother, not to catch forty winks. They shouldn't be sleeping on the job, surely?

I've read of others using a sturdy table to keep someone from standing, maybe a height adjustable over bed table (lots on amazon). If you laid a pillow across it at night she might be able to lay her head on it too.

Do you have a folding card table that will straddle the chair? Place that in front of her. Or use the alarm that clips to her clothing. Clip it to her neckline so that when she moves to get up it comes unclipped. Or place a rollaway bed for the aid directly in front of mom's chair so that she is blocked. Restraints as such are abusive, but if done passively are ok. I hope you find a workable solution. My mom will also sit like that occasionally. I'm afraid she's going to tumble forward. I have to keep eyes on her all the time now.

Does your Mom sleep in a recliner? If yes, if your Mom can comfortably sleep leaning back just a bit so that the leg part of the recliner is up, then put a large pillow under your Mom's knees. This will slow down her ability to try to get out of the recliner. You might need to secure the pillow to the recliner using a bungee cord or something similar, as long as it is comfortable.

That worked for my Mom who was an escape artist when it came to her bed and any type of chair. The nurses found the pillow under the knees would work, unless Mom was able to wrestle the pillow out from under her knees.

Unfortunately, freqflyer, my mom sits in a 'regular' oversized chair that came with an ottoman. In the last several years she has refused to elevate her legs or lean back in her chair, so now the ottoman is merely taking up space and/or the aides sit on it. Most nights she sleeps with her head in her lap or her aides try to get her to lean to one side to rest her head on a pillow. Always her feet are planted firmly on the floor. Taking her to the dentist or the Dr. where they want her in a reclining position is virtually impossible. She is strong, but her balance is bad and she is very unstable on her feet. She would never let us put a pillow under her legs. Regardless, I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I agree with Churchmouse, a night shift Aide should stay awake. I know whenever I needed 24 hour care for my Dad, the Agency informed me that the caregiver would remain awake throughout his/her whole shift.

Maybe it is time to get Mom into her bed, she can still sleep sitting up with one of those back rest arm pillows. I know she must love that overstuffed chair but make it uncomfortable for her to use, so that she would feel more comfortable when the Aide puts her into her bed. I don't know if that would stop her from trying to get out of bed or not. Penney's sells those backrest arm pillows fairly inexpensive.

Some times elders sleep sitting up because of acid reflux. I have that issue, but Tums before bed time really helps [get doctor's permission first].

My Mom use to doze off in her wing back chair, head down to her chest or leaning one side or another. Eventually her spine started to curve, and she would complain of neck pain.... well, no wonder. We tried to get her to use a neck pillow [like ones uses when flying] but she didn't like it.

If she likes to sleep in chair, I'd explore a geri-chair as described above. It's like recliner that leans back. Due to the tilt back, it's rather difficult to get out of it, if you have any muscle weakness. They also have a tray that can attach to it.

You can also try an alarm that goes off when someone rises. That would work, but if she's super fast, she could fall before her aid could catch her. I would think that an aid sitting next to her, would be fast enough to get to her if she rises and an alarm goes off though. I'd try that along with the geri-chair.

We are in a different situation here. The aides I've hired work a minimum of 48 hours straight, with literally no breaks. Because of this, they try to sleep when my mom sleeps. They truly are Godsends and angels who care lovingly for my mother. My mother often stays awake all night...which happened on the night I mentioned in my original post. Both she and her aide had been awake all night and finally around 6 am, my mom fell into a deep sleep. The aide felt safe in catching a few winks herself. When my mother woke up, it all happened so fast. I do not place any blame on the aide. She was doing what I pay her to do, but accidents happen. So I'm not going to pass judgement. I understand all of your concerns, but like I said, our situation, and my expectations are different. I merely want to know if anyone knows of a benign restraint out there that can be placed on her chair, but not on my mom, that will keep her safe from falling.

Again, let me reiterate, my mom will only sleep sitting up with her feet planted firmly on the floor. We have an amazing reclining lounge love seat, and we've tried to ease her into sitting back and raising her feet. She goes into complete panic mode, and it isn't pretty. We even tried to recline her when she's sleeping, to no avail. She will not let her back touch the back of the chair and her feet must be on the floor. We really have tried. I tried laying on a bed with her. That lasted mere seconds. The aides can't even get that far with her. So sitting up with her feet on the floor is HER WAY OF LI FE. Period. Not a thing we can do, so I just want to keep her as safe as possible, in the meantime. She will do the same thing; jump up unexpectedly when we're sitting on the couch with her, before anyone can spring into action. She's 91 and frail, but extremely strong, despite having balance issues and being unsteady on her feet. We may need to devise a restraint ourselves that we can affix to the sides of her chair to keep her safe from falling during the night. Thanks to all of you for your responses.

We also tried the alarm idea in the past, but it startled my mom so bad that the outcome was unworkable.

If the falls are a priority, then, I'd have to make arrangements for the caregiver to not sleep when mom is. I get how it's expensive, but, if you eliminate all other options, you limit yourself. No option may be perfect, but it beats her falling and getting a fracture.

There are alarms available that do not alert with a loud sound. Some vibrate, others beep only on the device the caregiver wears on their waistband. It doesn't have to wake up anyone but the caregiver.

I'd discuss her odd sleeping rituals with her doctor. If her sleep is that out of sorts, she may benefit from medication.