Eye Problem Linked to Sleepless Nights for Some Seniors

Have the whites of your eyes yellowed as you aged?  Do you have trouble sleeping?  These two symptoms may be linked.

First, see your doctor. According to research, cataracts have been shown to be a factor in frequent insomnia among seniors. Sleep quality has improved after cataract surgery.

A natural age-related yellowing of the eye lens that absorbs blue light has been linked to sleep disorders in a group of test volunteers, according to a study in the journal Sleep. As this type of lens discoloration worsened with age, so did the risk of insomnia.

The 970 study volunteers had their eyes examined by lens autofluorometry; a non-invasive method that determined how much blue light was transmitted into the retina. Blue light influences the sleep cycle by helping initiate the release of the hormone Melatonin, which tells the body when it's time to go to sleep or stay awake. 

“The strong link between lens yellowing and age could help explain why sleep disorders become more frequent with increasing age,” said Line Kessel, M.D., Ph.D., the study's lead author. “The results showed that while age-related lens yellowing is of relatively little importance for visual function, it may be responsible for insomnia in the elderly,” added Kessel, a senior scientist in the Department of Opthalmology at Glostrup Hospital in Denmark. 

She said sleep quality has been shown to improve after cataract surgery. “The transmission of blue light currently cannot be improved by any other method than cataract surgery. I’m involved with another research project where we try non-invasively to remove the yellow color of the lens using a laser, but the method is not yet developed for clinical use,” Kessel said.

There may be many other reasons for insomnia unrelated to eye color or cataracts.  According to Sleep, volume 34, issue 04, “excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) affects up to 10% to 33% of the elderly. Older adults and health care providers often view EDS as a normal aspect of aging. However, EDS has been associated with significant consequences, including an increased incidence of functional impairment, falls, cognitive deficits, and mortality.”

If you’re having difficulty sleeping, it will impact your life.  Please see your doctor to determine possible reasons.  Some seniors may be anxious about being alone.  In such cases, having a family member or caregiver there at night may allow the senior to sleep much better.

Rachel Carson, Certified Senior Advisor, is the owner of Home Instead Senior Care serving Chatham, Jasper and Beaufort counties since 1997.

The End of Affordable Caregiving?

Providing care giving is Home Instead's reason for being.  It is what we do and we strive to offer the finest care at affordable rates. Some of you are not members of the National Private Duty Association and may be unaware of the catastrophic effect that the proposed changes of the Companion Care Exemption, passed by Congress in 1974, may have on people receiving home care. While we applaud the current administrations desire to ensure that all In-Home Care Workers receive fair compensation, we find the current proposals to be counterproductive in this effort and will have a detrimental affect on the workers it is meant to help, those cared for by them and the industry as a whole.

 

We oppose the proposed changes 1235-AA05 to the NPRM because:

 ·    It will result in lower pay for caregivers because the majority of clients cannot afford to pay overtime, so hours will be reduced. Caregivers employed by private duty companies currently earn fair compensation—on average, well more than minimum wage.

·    It will hurt the continuity of care for fragile seniors and people with dementia or disabilities, who would struggle to adjust to a greater number of people coming into their homes and attending to their personal needs.

·    It will force unwanted institutionalization for people who will no longer be able to afford the in-home non-medical care they need to remain in their own homes.

·    It will significantly increase federal and state government spending as costs to Medicaid and other government programs would go up, both from an increase in compensation to in-home caregivers, and from increased government-subsidized institutionalization.

·    It will encourage an underground “grey market” as people in need seek less expensive—but untrained and unsupervised—workers who will not operate within the rules of the FLSA. It may also result in those most vulnerable being subject to neglect, abuse and/or  financial  mismanagement.

·    It will result in reduced federal and state revenues from unpaid taxes because these underground workers will not be employees; who will most likely be paid in cash and will probably not even know about - much less comply with - their federal and state tax responsibilities.

·    It will hurt the small businesses that employ trained, supervised, professional caregivers, causing some companies to go under and many to struggle.  It will cost jobs as a result.

·    It could virtually eliminate the option of live-in companion care for persons with disabilities and seniors because of the significant additional costs and record-keeping burdens imposed by the NPRM.

We urge each of you to write individually to Mary Ziegler of the Wage and Hour Division  AGAINST  the  proposed changes.  To submit these comments, follow this link:  http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=WHD-2011-0003-0001. We suggest that you also send letters to your US Representative and Senator as well.  We need as many individuals as possible to respond .  Please get the message to your colleagues, clients and friends.

 THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS IS MARCH 21ST!     

Related links:
White House Press Release  
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Amend the Companionship and Live-In Worker Regulations

March is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Month

Macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition affecting as many as 15 million Americans. The disease attacks the macula of the eye, where the sharpest central vision occurs. Although it rarely results in complete blindness, it only leaves peripheral vision, and dim images or black holes at the center of vision. The fastest growing form is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the top cause of severe vision loss and legal blindness in adults over 60 in the U.S. For more information, visit www.amd.org.

Home Instead CAREGivers can transport their clients to an optometrist appointment, or help them find large-print books and publications. They can also assist with sewing, reading the newspaper, clipping coupons, sorting mail, meal planning and preparing grocery lists.