Should sleep be the starting point in dementia care?
In a recent webinar with Dementia Community, Thomas Tredinnick, CEO and Co-Founder of Ally Cares explored a question that is gaining increasing attention across the sector: should sleep sit at the centre of dementia care?
The session focused on how sleep breaks down as dementia progresses and the impact this can have on behaviour, safety and overall health. Rather than being a secondary issue, sleep disruption was discussed as something that may influence a wide range of outcomes seen in care, from distress and reduced engagement to increased vulnerability and decline, a theme explored further in The Sleep Gap: the overlooked factor costing lives, time and trust in care.
Alongside this, the webinar shared practical, dementia-appropriate approaches to improving sleep, with a focus on reducing unnecessary night-time disruption and creating calmer, more supportive environments. This builds on the principles of sleep positive care and the growing importance of understanding what happens overnight, as outlined in unknown night-time insights in care homes.
As Tom reflected during the session:
“Sleep is not just another factor in care. It may be one of the most influential.”
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