Extension of aides' hours from 8 to maybe 12 daily.

I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve been trying to understand how to find help from our agency.
If you use an agency for overnights they usually do 2 aides for 12 hour shifts. Like 8am-8pm then another for 8 pm-8am. They don’t sleep during that time.
Another scenario is hiring a “live in” but you have guarantee they have their own sleeping space and at lest 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. You are not charged for those hours.
In my case, my husband gets up in the middle of the night and needs redirection back to bed and sometimes puts all the lights on etc and wants to get up and get ready at 3 am. It would not work to have the caregiver in another bedroom nor would I be able to guarantee 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Another option is to hire sn independent caregiver who is more flexible and can stay for a few days but they may charge for 24 hours whether they sleep or not.
There are state laws that govern how an agency provides aides. An independent contractor can make their own rules.,
In my case we have long term care insurance that covers the caregiving help I hire but they have to be approved etc.
I see the advantage of having my husband in Memory Care where he is cared for completely everyday and night including meals etc. But I’m trying to avoid that and keep him home. On the other hand I’m not getting adequate sleep and hiring a night time caregiver in my condo will not help me sleep. I’d be awake with them. My solution is to get away for respite weekends but have to find the best caregiver help solution.
We do have a caregiver once a week but she can only work until 4 PM - no overnights or flexibility so I’m looking for other options. ( My husband loves her and she is great but not flexible)
I will be interested in how others deal with hiring overnight care.
Thank you for bringing this up and bless you for all you do for your parents.

I have a caregiver stay overnight in my husband's bedroom 7 nights a week. This is because I absolutely need to sleep through the night in a different room in order to function the next day as his caregiver. We are fortunate to have the resources to do this. In his room there is a comfortable upholstered club chair from which he/she can see my husband so they can accompany him when he gets up to use the bathroom or sometimes just wanders around the house. He falls a lot as he declines to use his walker unless prompted. I personally would not put a cot in the room because that would make it easier for the caregiver to fall asleep. That is not what I am paying for. I give them my cell phone number so they can call me if there is an issue with his care. The caregiver's hours are from 11pm to 7am. Sometimes it is hard to stay up until 11pm but I usually climb in bed with him around 10pm and then read until 11pm when the caregiver arrives, then I go upstairs to sleep. I also have a baby monitor in there to keep an eye on him if I am not in the room or during the day when he is in bed. I would look into as many caregiving agencies in your area as possible to compare what is available. If you have only one bedroom maybe you could sleep on the couch in your living room, use earplugs if necessary to avoid getting involved with what is going on in the bedroom with your husband. Good sleep is essential to taking care of yourself. It took me a while to find an agency that works for us. I prefer an agency because they screen their employees and will always find a substitute caregiver if the regularly scheduled one can't make it. God bless you for all you do to take care of your husband.

I agree that putting a cot in room is an invitation to deep sleeping on the job. I had a very comfortable easy chsir recliner in my mother’s room for sitters and I know they dozed off some but they usually were awake and available. You can find someone to come for those 8 hours spanning whatever time works for you, but as time goes by you may want to have sitters coming back to back like starting earlier, switching off in the middle of the night then new sitter would stay until you have bathing, meals, etc done leaving you with only a 3rd shift to cover during the day. Of course, a live in person would be amazing if you have the room. Our gameplan is to hire a live in companion/sitter as we have a full two empty bedrooms with attached baths for her/his privacy. I am not looking forward to having another person in my home 24/7 as of yet, but we will try that before memory care.