Is a dark room better for a dementia patient?

Does she have vision issues? If she has macular degeneration or glaucoma, dimmer lights make it easier to see. If not, then brighter lights - especially light through windows - helps people to stay oriented to day and night.

MamaChar: Light is better for anyone suffering from dementia.

I have the opposite problem. My Alzheimer Mom and nearly blind Dad live in So Cal and keep the drapes drawn at all time and it is like a cave. They never leave the house and the cave-like darkness is hard to be around when we are staying with them. (All children live out of state and far away.) Alzheimer Mom acts like the darkness is for my nearly blind Dad. However 92 yr old Dad literally sleeps almost 18 hrs a day so he is not in the dark family room much at all. I try to get Mom to get some light when Dad is not around, but she seems to prefer the darkness. She just sits in her "perch" doing word search puzzles all day with the TV blaring on the news. Anyone else have similar behaviors?

I have found that light does make a difference and so does music, the sunlight seems to be a trigger in bringing them around but I guess it could depend on the individual, I have had a few patients that I have used light therapy along with music or reading and it showed a great responsive reaction in several patients.

She seems content the way it is. And it sounds like you've got it worked out.
It depends on the person and their condition.

With TBI, Doctors advise limited stimulation, such as low lighting, low noise level, not too many visitors in the room at one time, etc.

And for some dementia patients, the darkness and dark shadows can be seen as scary and induce hallucinations.

One more tip: My husband was sundowning, and I found online advice that helped immediately (in his case. Again, it depends on the person). I personally like low lighting, so I would have most of the lights out, except for one source of dim lighting. The advice was to keep the room well lit, including the surrounding spaces, such as down the hall, the kitchen, areas that are within sight. The idea is to create a bright, cheery environment, reduce the confusion they might experience from dark shadows, and hide the fact that it is evening. So, I turned on all the lights and would close the drapes before it started to get dark outside.
That helped the first time I tried it.

I give all these different answers because your mother's needs may change as her condition progresses. Just recognize what makes her comfortable and go with it!

Yes to more light from a dementia standpoint and also from a vision standpoint she will be able to see better with more light — especially the elderly, and someone with dementia who maybe hasn't had a vision check or change in prescription for a while or has some cataracts.

My wife suffered with ALZ for several years and she absolutely demanded that the lights be on at all times, day or night. She would get scared in the dark or even dim light so I got used to sleeping with the lights on full blast, including the lamps in the bedroom. She would sometimes get up and walk around the house turning on lights in other rooms at night. The darkness scared her and I think the hallucinations were worse in the dim light. She passed last year, and I still sleep with the lights on.

I spoke with Mother's Hospice nurse and confirmed that she should be in a lighted room. We've both spoken with the AL director and the staff has been instructed to keep her shades open during the day and a light on for her...ie entered into her care plan. Thanks again for your input! Blessings.

Light is important to someone suffering from Dementia. Me, I have a small lamp in my Den that I watch TV by. A stand up one I read by. My Kindle is lighted.

Mother has severe dementia. I've asked her "on or off?" "which is better?" Her usual reply is 'either way is fine'. Sometimes she says 'on', sometimes 'off'. I just feel she should have lights on during the daylight hours. She is wheelchair bound, so there's no worry about safety, it's a well-being issue really. I will address this with the AL management and ask for them to enter it on her care plan as you suggested. I appreciate your input and will also get some night lights! Thank you and many Blessings.

If it comforts you to have more light in the room then do put nightlights around. They are cheap as anything and they cast a good amount of light and are automatic now. This would solve the safety issue. If this is more than a safety issue then I would go ahead and have this entered in her care plan which goes around usually with the medication RN. Ask lights be put on at a certain hour and turned off at bedtime. I myself don't like a lot of light at night. Have you asked mother?