Palliative and End-of-Life Mobility

Palliative and End-of-Life Comfort at Home: How to Turn in Bed Without Exhausting Everyone

This article is for people at end of life at home, and for the family or carers helping them move in bed. The aim is comfort, not exercise or “keeping strong”. We focus on turning and small position changes that reduce pain, breathlessness and exhaustion for everyone involved. You’ll learn why turning is uniquely difficult in palliative situations, how to recognise the hardest moments in a turn, and how to use gravity, pillows and timing to make movements gentler. We’ll also look at how a low-friction home slide sheet like Snoozle can reduce mattress drag and pain spikes, without lifting or risky transfers. The goal is to give you a calm, realistic way of moving that respects limited energy, fragile skin, medical equipment and emotional strain. You can pick and choose the parts that fit your situation right now, and adapt them as things change.