Key Takeaways
- Sleeping Night Care involves carers who are present overnight but sleep, providing support when needed, typically up to two times. On the other hand, Waking Night Care involves a professional carer who remains awake throughout the night, ready to provide care and support as required.
- Sleeping Night Care is particularly beneficial for people who may need occasional support during the night but do not require continuous assistance. The carer can rest during quieter periods, ensuring they are sufficiently rested to continue providing support the following day.
- Waking Night Care is suitable for people who require frequent assistance during the night. The duties of a waking night carer can include a wide range of tasks that the individual needs assistance with, such as changing positions during the night or administering medication at regular intervals.
- A waking night carer provides tailored and specialised care throughout the night, including administering medication, emotional support, and peace of mind. In contrast, a sleeping night carer provides limited assistance, primarily for reassurance and peace of mind, and is suitable for people who rarely need assistance during the night.
- Leaf Complex Care is a service provider that provides Sleeping and Waking Night Care. We also provide 24-hour support at people’s homes, with a dedicated care team committed to ensuring continuous, tailored support to meet people’s specific needs.
What are Sleeping Night Care and Waking Night Care?
Sleeping night care and waking night care are two types of overnight care services provided to people who require assistance during the night. The care is developed to ensure that people receive the necessary specialist care tailored to their specific needs during the nighttime hours in their homes as a cost-effective alternative to promote recovery.
Sleeping night care involves carers who sleep during the night but can provide overnight support whenever needed. There is usually a limit on the number of times the carer can wake up to help, typically around twice. They are available to provide support throughout the night, ensuring the individual’s needs are met. During sleeping nights, the overnight carer is usually allowed to rest or sleep for at least 8 hours but can be woken up to two times.
Waking night care involves a professional carer awake and on duty throughout the night, ready to provide care and support whenever necessary. This type of care is suitable for people who wake several times during the night and require frequent assistance, such as being disoriented, needing to go to the bathroom, or requiring medication at regular intervals. The waking night carer is always on call, awake, and alert to address emergent health concerns, ensuring the person’s safety and well-being throughout the entire night.
In addition to providing waking and sleeping night care, Leaf Complex Care provides 24-hour support at people’s homes. Our dedicated team is committed to ensuring that people receive continuous assistance tailored to their specific needs around the clock. This includes personalised care plans, reliable daily and night support, and a compassionate approach to addressing the diverse needs of those we care for.
⇒ Read more about The Benefits of 24-hour Care for Complex Needs.
What is Sleeping Night Care?
Sleeping night care is a form of overnight care where your carer will be available throughout the night to provide your care. The difference between sleeping night care and waking night care is that whilst both are there to help people overnight, a sleeping night carer will sleep during the quieter moments, ensuring they are sufficiently refreshed to continue providing your support the following day. At the same time, a waking night carer is fully trained to be available to provide your support during the night.
As previously mentioned, sleeping night care is when carers will arrange overnight care and be available to support people whenever needed. The focus is on providing comfort and peace of mind, with the carer on hand to offer assistance if required while ensuring they are well-rested to continue providing care during the day. This type of care is particularly beneficial for people who may need occasional support during the night but do not require continuous assistance. In moments of support at more regular intervals during the night, the waking night service may be more applicable to people’s needs.
The carer may sleep during quieter moments, ensuring they are sufficiently rested to continue providing support the following day. This form of overnight care is suitable for individuals who require less frequent assistance during the night but benefit from having a carer available for reassurance and support.
What is Waking Night Care?
Waking night care involves a carer who remains awake and alert throughout the night to provide continuous support for people with specific care needs. A waking night carer’s duties can include anything that your loved one needs assistance with, whether helping in changing positions during the night or taking medication at regular intervals throughout the night. An older adult can especially benefit from waking night care if they need mobility support, have challenges with urinary incontinence, have overactive bladder function, or have chronic health conditions that require close monitoring during the night.
A waking night carer primarily provides proactive support during the night. Unlike a sleeping night carer, sleep will not usually be a priority for the waking night carer; in fact, the night carer will often not sleep at all. They can assist with personal care routines such as bathing, toileting and other domestic duties, managing stomas and catheters, changing clothes, and self-care, ensuring that individuals can maintain their independence and confidence at all hours.
What are the Differences Between a Waking Night Carer and a Sleeping Carer?
A waking night carer is primarily available during the night to support your needs. A sleeping carer is there to assist if needed, but only on a limited number of occasions.
Waking Night Carer:
Tailored and Specialised Care: Waking night carers are trained professionals who provide tailored and specialised care throughout the night, particularly for people who require more complex care, such as advanced dementia, nursing care, recovery after an operation, or people receiving palliative care.
Administering Medication: They are capable of medication management and providing support for regular medical needs throughout the night.
Emotional Support: Waking night carers offer emotional support and reassurance, especially for those who may have lost confidence at night.
Peace of Mind: Their presence ensures peace of mind for the person and their family members, particularly those with short-term health concerns or complex health needs.
Sleeping Night Carer:
Limited Assistance: An overnight carer sleeps in the person’s home for the night but is available to provide support whenever needed, typically up to a limited number of times during the night, usually around twice.
Reassurance and Peace of Mind: Their presence is primarily for reassurance and peace of mind, offering support, including bathroom assistance, reassurance, and pain management.
Emotional well-being: Sleeping carers are suitable for people who rarely need assistance during the nighttime but prefer to have a helping hand just in case they ever do.
⇒ Learn more about Promoting Individual Freedom and Independence with Home Care.
Waking And Sleeping Night Support with Leaf Complex Care
Leaf Complex Care provides both sleeping and waking night support, with sleeping night care providing limited but available assistance during the night and waking night care offering continuous support, particularly for people who require complex care. Both types of support are tailored to meet the person’s specific needs, ensuring peace of mind and specialised care throughout the night in their own home.
We also provide live-in care, which allows people to receive the necessary care and support while remaining in the comfort of their cherished homes. The primary focus of a live-in carer is on preserving people’s independence, empowering them to make choices, and upholding their dignity, all of which are fundamental to their well-being and overall happiness.
Our overnight carers provide comprehensive care to improve care for the better. We offer 24-hour support as well as a safe environment.
Read about our case studies as first-hand experiences of the people we support and their families.
Office Details: Bristol, Slough, Birmingham, Somerset
