My mom is restless and she walks around the house for hours. How can I get her to stop?

There are medications that are safe for her to take for restlessness, check with her Doctor. You might also try to get her outside in the fresh air during the day. Sundowners syndrome is something that happens with folks with Alzheimers disease. They (researchers) have proven a correlation to lack of vitamin D and sundowners. The natural vitamin D outside could be very helpful! I would also encourage you to talk with the Dr. Have you tried a cup of tea camomile or something soothing without caffeine??? take care, J

Hi, I go thru the same thing with the wandering since my moms strokes. Before that, she also HAD to stay busy. She folded towels over and over and loved it. At first it scared me that she didnt know they were the same ones after I messed them up or put them in the dryer and gave them back to her. Daycare also is great to keep them busy. My Mom will sit down with tea (with helo) but eat finger food for a long time. I use colorful Trix, fruits, cheerios, etc. We spend hours at the table because she cant do anything else now. Looking forward to your other answers coming.

This is probably dense of me, but can you put in words what is the actual problem with this? Does she get too tired, or is it that it's making you crazy, or what? I'm still learning....

Its called sundowners sometimes. They think they have unfinished business or they want to "go home" "see their mother" or just cannot relax, its really sad and frustrating. When Mom has an episode we lock all doors and let her walk it out. It used to last 10-20 minutes but now it can be hours at a time or it stops on some days for no reason. I too need to figure this out, We got rid of the aggression but now need to get rid of the wandering. If I could keep her busy it would be better, but cant now.

Adult Day Care is so good. She really needs some stimulation. It has been wonderful for my mom.
Also I get her out for exercise. I tell everyone I have to wear her down. And I do. We go for walks and went to the Aquarium and just went at her pace. Of course I have things set up Montessori style around the house so activities catch her eye and attention. Paint, brushes, and pictures or crafts are set out on the table and left out, they want easy, larger print short stories, older children's books are good, the EASY crossword puzzles, I even read those out loud and we do it together, magazines she likes, clothes to fold, foods easily handled to snack on, or that are out and she can pour into a plastic bowl herself, etc. But really, physical activity is so important. Getting out of the house, does not have to be long, take a little walk and examine the flowers, just to do it and they get tired fast.

Why get her to stop? Let her walk. What's it to you?

Picture, you are so lucky as I used to be able to do that. Just a stroke and it can be lost in a second. Mom lost most of her eyesight and coordination with her hands and sees things that are 3D or cannot understand what they are. Enjoy her while you can, I miss that!!
Hugs to you.
Luvmom

I think she means that the walking is uncomfortable, a very restless feeling in which her Mom cant settle down. I have seen it in my own Mom, and its not that you dont want them to walk, they are very uneasy and aggitated, it doesnt appear to be a comfortable state of mind. Its like they keep looking for something and cant find it. Is this true Julie? Just my opinion. I hear its a "stage" but am hoping it ends here soon too. good luck.

Julie - Please don't take this the wrong way - I say it as a reformed control freak myself - but do you want your mom to be still for her sake or yours? As long as she's not hurting herself or anyone else, what's wrong with pacing? As I read the comments above there are some good ideas to occupy her time but this might be something that goes on for a while given her disease process. One thing I've learned about helping my own mom is that we can't "bend" them to our routines and preferences - especially when alzheimers is taking over. Whether they are okay mentally or not, bringing another adult into your home requires adjustment from all, and it's constant adjustment as they age and become less able to do things. Since they, our elders, are limited physically and mentally (sometimes) it's the rest of us who end up adjusting the most. I caused myself a lot of frustration until I finally "got this".

You are a blessing to your mom - she's lucky to have such a caring child. Best of luck to you both.

I completely agree with great suggestions here regarding keeping them engaged and busy. "Picture": by defining her environment as Montessori in nature, is a brilliant solution. Everything in a Montessori environment has a specific use or purpose. There is nothing in the environment that cannot be seen and/or touched. All of the furniture and tasks are designed to be 'touched and handled, and although originally intended for children, works quite well for any dementia person.

We made our home "Alzheimer's proof" after a few NEAR catastrophic events! It doesn't take much to want to make it 'safe' for Mom instead of pretty for any visitors. That way I wasn't constantly saying "NO Mom, don't touch that, it will break!: with her looking at things inquisitively and trying to complete the 'project'.

CABIN fever seems to be common, and since they are not able to articulate what is bothering them, it becomes a guessing game for us to figure out how to make them happy. Sometimes just leading them in the right direction is more effective. I would just 'start' a simple puzzle, and soon Mom would walk over and join in. I left a basket of laundry on the counter for her to 'fold' and dry goods for her to put in the pantry.

One more note that I always seem to make is, if this behavior is sudden, CHECK FOR A UTI. Easy enough to get checked and rule out too.

Be creative, and if walking around doesn't seem to agitate her, I would allow it to a point.