How Can I Keep an Eye on My Loved One at Night When I'm Not There?
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Dr. Thomas Conroy earned his PhD at Cornell University, where he helped develop the sensing technology behind SensVita as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Q: My mom was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment last year and still lives on her own, about half an hour from me. Lately she's waking up more at night, and some mornings she seems more confused than usual. I worry about what's happening overnight, especially since she doesn't always tell me when she isn't feeling well. How can I keep an eye on her when I'm not there?
You're right to pay attention to her nights. Sleep problems are common with cognitive changes, and they affect everyone in the family. There are practical, research-supported steps you can take now, and newer tools let you check in on her without cameras or anything for her to wear.
Why sleep matters
A 2023 analysis of people with dementia living at home found that about 1 in 4 (26%) have sleep disturbances, and about 1 in 5 (19%) have disturbances severe enough to be clinically significant.¹ Sleep and brain health are also linked over the long term. In a 25-year study of nearly 8,000 adults, people who consistently slept 6 hours or less in their 50s, 60s and 70s had about a 30% higher risk of developing dementia.²
Nights are especially hard on caregivers too: a review of 35 studies covering over 3,000 caregivers found that people caring for a loved one with dementia lose 2.4 to 3.5 hours of sleep every week.³
What you can do now
Help her keep a steady routine. Consistent wake and bedtimes, plus daylight and activity during the day, can help her sleep through the night.
Watch the evening habits. Cut back on caffeine and alcohol later in the day, and ask her doctor to review any medications that can disrupt sleep.
Make nights safer. Add night lights between the bed and the bathroom and keep walkways clear. If she's up at night, consider door chimes or motion-sensor lights, and make sure she can reach a phone from bed.
Keep a simple log. Note what she tells you about her nights and the mornings she seems more confused. A sudden change in sleep, breathing, or confusion is worth a call to her doctor, since it can be a sign of an infection or another treatable problem.
Keeping an eye on things from a distance
The hard part is that you can't see what happens overnight, and your mom may not remember it or be able to describe it. Wearables only help if they're charged and worn, and cameras feel intrusive to a lot of families.
We spent years researching this problem at Cornell University. We developed a touchless sensor method, using low-power radio waves, that integrates into beds and home furniture to help caregivers monitor sleep and wellness when they aren't home.
Working with geriatricians at Weill Cornell Medicine, we placed a sensor under the bedsheet in the homes of 10 people living with advanced dementia, in a study focused on breathing. It caused no distress for any participant, and 9 of 10 family caregivers saw value in this early warning system because their loved one couldn't report discomfort. The sensor correctly flagged about three out of four episodes of breathing distress and rarely raised a false alarm.⁴ An earlier study with 27 patients at the Weill Cornell Center for Sleep Medicine showed that the same technology could detect sleep-disordered breathing such as apnea.⁵ While these studies focused on people with sleep disorders or advanced dementia, the same challenge — a loved one who can't always tell you how the night went — often starts much earlier. Larger studies are needed and planned, but these early results suggest this kind of home monitoring is promising for family caregivers.
Building on this research, our team at SensVita is developing in-furniture monitoring for seniors living at home. A thin sensor pad sits under the bedsheet and is designed to track breathing, heart rate, sleep quality, restlessness and time in bed each night, so family members and care teams can see how the night went, whether she was up, and any changes from her usual pattern. There is nothing to wear or charge, and no cameras.
If your mom is working with NewDays, share what you're noticing about her nights with her NewDays clinician. Sleep changes can affect how she feels and functions day to day, and it helps her care team see the full picture. In the meantime, a steady routine and a simple sleep log give you something concrete to bring to her next doctor's visit.
Sources
Koren T, et al. Prevalence of sleep disturbances in people with dementia living in the community: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews. 2023;83:101782. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2022.101782
Sabia S, et al. Association of sleep duration in middle and old age with incidence of dementia. Nature Communications. 2021;12:2289. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22354-2
Gao C, et al. Sleep duration and sleep quality in caregivers of patients with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2(8):e199891. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9891
Gangwar K, et al. Testing near-field radio-frequency sensors to predict respiratory distress in patients living with dementia: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study. American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine. 2026. doi:10.1177/10499091261450897
Zhang Z, Conroy TB, Krieger AC, Kan EC. Detection and prediction of sleep disorders by covert bed-integrated RF sensors. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. 2023;70(4):1208-1218. doi:10.1109/TBME.2022.3212619
About SensVita
SensVita is a Cornell spinout building touchless, in-furniture health monitoring for seniors aging in place. Its sensors track breathing, heart rate, and nighttime activity through bedding and clothing, with nothing to wear and no cameras. SensVita is grant-supported by the National Science Foundation. Learn more at sensvita.co, or email info@sensvita.co.
Thomas Conroy is the founder and CEO of SensVita, a NewDays partner.
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