Experiences and Insights on How Sleep Technology Can Elevate the Quality of Care and Wellbeing of Older Adults
Last Friday, Mar 15th on World Sleep Day, Tochtech Technologies and Langley Lodge, a BC-based care home, came together to host an enlightening speaker event centered around the transformative potential of sleep technology in improving the quality of care for seniors. The event, attended by those from the healthcare and senior care industries, featured three esteemed speakers renowned in the fields of sleep research and senior care.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Colleen Carney, Ph.D., CPsych: Professor and Director of the Sleep and Depression Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, Dr. Carney shared invaluable insights on how an understanding physiological and behavioral factors and creating the right conditions can positively impact sleep quality.- Sandy da Silva: Founder of SKS Consulting. Sandy da Silva, brought her extensive experience as a clinician and administrator in mental health shared the results of the recent study on improving sleep quality in dementia care.
- Lisa Samms-Maxwell: Director of Care at Langley Lodge. Lisa Samms-Maxwell, provided firsthand experiences of using sleep innovation such as Tochtech’s Sleepsense in long term care, and how it has supported them in reducing the level of antipsychotic medication for some residents.
Recordings of presentations can be found in the links provided at the end of this article.
The speakers highlighted the detrimental effects of sleep disturbances on older adults, including impaired cognition, heightened responsive behavior, and decreased overall wellbeing. Attendees gained valuable insights into evidence-based interventions for optimizing sleep in long-term care settings, such as ensuring exposure to sunlight, engagement in meaningful activities, and appropriate scheduling of evening activities to promote better sleep habits. The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive with many commenting on the various ways they would be looking to introduce programs and care routines to help support better sleep quality.
The speakers also shared experiences and stories on using innovation like Sleepsense to understand a resident’s sleep patterns providing a basis for necessary interventions such as reducing day-time naps or making medication changes to support improved sleep quality. Additionally, integration of Sleepsense data into care plans and care routines allows care staff to personalize care for each resident. Sleepsense is currently implemented in an increasing number of seniors’ homes globally, Sleepsense has shown remarkable results, including a 35% improvement in sleep quality and a significant reduction in resident falls by 38%.
The collaborative efforts of Tochtech Technologies and Langley Lodge in hosting this event has shed light on the transformative potential of sleep technology in senior care. “This highly successful event, we hope, is just the beginning and it underscores our collective commitment to enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life of older adults” said Jessica Yang, CEO of Tochtech.
Links to the recording of presentations:
Sleep and Aging – Dr Colleen Carney
Accessing sleep data for appropriate use of antipsychotics Lisa Samms Maxwell
Improving the Quality of Sleep using Toch Sleepsense Sandy da Silva
