What is Overnight Care?
Our guidance on overnight care
Overnight care helps older adults with mobility or health issues to stay safe and comfortable during the night when they may feel most vulnerable and alone. Here, we are exploring what overnight care is, the different types available, the services included, how it could benefit older adults, how it could benefit families, and the situations when it could be most helpful. At Home Instead, our aim is to help people age positively and in place by bringing expert care to their home. For nearly 20 years, we have been providing the highest standard of care, and creating industry-leading training programmes for our Care Professionals that are accredited by nursing and medical professionals. Today, we are the world’s largest global domiciliary care network, supporting over 100,000 older adults with personalised, tailored care at home. So whatever questions you have about overnight care, we can help.
What is overnight care?
Overnight care is a type of care designed to be delivered at night, enabling older adults to get the support they need during the hours of the night when they may be vulnerable, anxious, or lonely. The aim of this is to continue the necessary medical care they receive during the day, but help them feel safe and comfortable enough to get some rest or sleep at night if they can. For older people who live with medical conditions, require constant monitoring, or have mobility issues or cognitive impairments, overnight care can be essential to ensure they can continue living in their own home. One 2023 study highlighted two reports showing the benefits of this type of care. The first, an overnight service in the US that was found to be successful in preventing visits to the accident and emergency department. The second was a service in Sweden that identified the need for evening and night “patrols”, without which they suggested more older adults would have their safety and quality of life negatively impacted, meaning a move to a care home would be necessary. Overnight care can happen within the person’s own home, and can be either a live-in care arrangement for efficiency and consistency of care, or alternatively, a visiting night carer who comes in later in the evening to take over from a daytime carer. For example, they may be on duty from 9pm for 10 hours.Overnight care is often split into two categories:Waking Night Care – This means the caregiver will stay awake throughout the night, keeping a watchful eye over the older person and being ready to respond to their needs. This may be particularly helpful for someone who needs more constant monitoring or is at risk of wandering, such as a person with dementia. Sleeping Night Care – This means a caregiver will sleep or rest within the home (such as would be the case for a live-in carer) but can still be nearby and available if anything is needed. This may be helpful for an older person with less intensive needs, but who may prefer to know someone is only a room away, or may still need assistance with certain things, such as getting to the bathroom during the night. Overnight care provides a reassuring presence for vulnerable older people who live alone and have specific care needs that do not necessarily stop throughout the night. This offers peace of mind for older adults who wish to remain living at home, and their families.
What services could be included in overnight care?
Overnight care can provide all of the same services daytime care offers, including any combination of:
- Personal care, such as assistance with getting to and using the bathroom
- Medication reminders or administering medication where appropriate
- Dementia monitoring to ensure their safety at all times
- Mobility assistance
- Meal preparation and cooking
- Assisting with moving around to prevent falls
- Support to recover from surgery
- Emotional support and companionship to avoid loneliness
As well as the usual care tasks, overnight care may also provide:
- Assistance with bedtime routines, such as brushing teeth or safely transferring from a wheelchair into a bed
- Help repositioning during sleep, if needed, to prevent bedsores from developing
- Rapid response to any emergencies
- A calming, comforting environment to promote sleep
- Assistance with nighttime incontinence
What are the benefits of overnight care for older adults?
For older adults living alone and dealing with health issues, having overnight care could make a huge difference to their safety, peace of mind and overall quality of life. Aside from the practical support this provides, such as getting help to and from the bathroom at night, maintaining a medication schedule, or having regular healthy meals, it can also provide the emotional support needed for them to feel confident and independent in their own home. For those who experience anxiety or loneliness during the night, or who tend to become disoriented or confused after waking, overnight care could provide the companionship they need. Older adults can rest easy knowing that, should an emergency or sudden health need arise, they can simply call to the next room to get the help they require. As a result, they may be able to sleep better, which can have a positive impact on their overall wellbeing and health. For those with a complex medical condition, mobility problems, loneliness, or a neurological issue, overnight care could be a highly positive addition to their life.
What are the benefits of overnight care for families?
Leaving an older loved one alone in their home can feel uncomfortable and worrying, particularly if they live with a health condition that calls into question their abilities and safety.For this reason, families of older loved ones can also benefit greatly from overnight care, as this can often be a welcome respite from their own caregiving duties, and offer them peace of mind that their relative is in safe, capable hands. Whether families are most concerned about overnight falls, dementia-related wandering, or simply worry they will be lonely or frightened on their own, overnight care can help, with someone always around to step in and help if they need anything. Knowing their loved one is looked after by a professional can help families to get better sleep, maintain a more regular schedule, avoid carer’s burnout, and take time off to recharge and spend time with other family members.You can learn more about carer’s burnout in our guide to Carer’s Burnout.
When could overnight care be most helpful?
There are several situations where overnight care is considered to be most helpful, and in some cases necessary, in order to keep an older person living comfortably and confidently in their own home.
Dementia
Studies show that those living with dementia are more frequently admitted to hospital than those without this condition, so for those with dementia or another cognitive impairment, overnight care may be needed to keep them safe during the night. This is particularly important if they are prone to issues like wandering, sundowning, or if their sleep schedule has shifted due to their dementia. Also, if they begin leaving appliances turned on (such as the hob or a curling iron) this could cause danger to themselves or others, so it is important to put things in place to avoid them being alone for too long. You can learn more about this in our guide to what dementia care is.
Mobility issues
Getting to the bathroom or getting a drink of water could be difficult for an older person who lives with a mobility-limiting condition such as arthritis. In these cases, having an overnight carer to provide help with tasks like these could improve their quality of life and avoid unnecessary falls or accidents.
Medical conditions
Some people live with medical conditions requiring attention during the night. Perhaps they have regular medication needs, such as pain relief, or they are undergoing palliative care or require vital signs monitoring. Whatever their needs, if they must be checked on every few hours then overnight care may be needed to maintain their health and wellbeing.
Continence issues
If an older person suffers from continence problems, this means they may not be able to get to the bathroom by themselves, or they may need to use things like continence pads to avoid leaks. When this is the case, having overnight care could help them get to the bathroom if they need this, or to clean up after any accidents where they could not reach the bathroom in time.
Post-hospital stay
For anyone who is recovering from a hospital stay, such as after a major illness, surgery or accident, having overnight care may be necessary to support their regular needs and ensure they do not experience any pain, discomfort or complications overnight.
Emergency situations
If an older person is at risk of an emergency situation arising, then it may allow everyone to rest easier knowing there is someone in the home overnight to help. For example, if they have a high risk of stroke or a heart attack, or they have regular falls, overnight care could provide efficient help. If you or a loved one needs overnight care to cope with a health condition or a specific medical need, or you simply feel anxious or lonely being in the home at night, our friendly, supportive Care Professionals can provide the help needed to maintain a high standard of care throughout the day and night. From general companionship and mobility care to complex care and continence care, whatever support you need, you can reach out to your local Home Instead office to discuss your options.We’re an award-winning home care provider and part of a worldwide organisation devoted to providing the highest-quality relationship-led care for older people in their own homes. Arranging care for yourself or your loved one shouldn’t be stressful, so whatever questions you would like answered, feel free to reach out to the Home Instead team to discuss your needs.
Diane WIlliams , Head of Quality & Standards
Before joining Home Instead, I built a comprehensive career in the social care sector, beginning in 1991 as a frontline care worker and advancing to senior leadership roles across both private and voluntary sector businesses.
Throughout my career, I have supported diverse care groups in a variety of settings, including community, residential, nursing, and secure environments. My experience spans working with older adults, including those living with dementia; individuals with physical disabilities and complex, long-term health needs; people with learning disabilities, including autism; individuals with enduring mental health challenges; individuals with current or past substance use and those with forensic backgrounds.
In 2002, I qualified as a social worker and have since maintained my professional registration with Social Work England.