I take care of her 24/7 so this has become a concern for me. I try arousing and waking her but she gets irritable. Even when I can get her out of the house, we get home and she is sleeping again. When she wakes she is delusional and confused.
First your mom is 94 so I'm sure just being that age is tiring as the body is winding down. And then you add dementia on top of it and of course she's wanting to sleep all the time. Why don't you just let her sleep? I myself would not be very happy if all I wanted to do was sleep and my loved one kept trying to wake me up. When the body is getting ready to transition from this world to the next sleeping a lot is very common, so have you brought hospice on board yet? If not I certainly would ASAP. My late husband in his last year slept anywhere from 16 -20 hours a day, and he was under hospice care for the last 22 months of his life. So when he was sleeping so much I knew that that was just part of the process and it didn't concern me at all. Your mom is probably just tired of living at this point, so again bring hospice on board and let her sleep.
Can you tell us a bit more about why you think it important that she be awake?
As an old retired RN now 81 I can reassure you that they do sleep more and are honestly quite over being awake. As My Dad said in his early 90s, he longed for the last long nap. He had had a wonderful life, but he was exhausted with life, and ready to go.
Be grateful she's sleeping and not screaming that she wants to go home. Some of them do.
I believe (from personal experience, not anything I've been told) that dementia patients' brains recharge while they sleep, just as normal brains do.
What should we expect from a 94-year-old, anyway? Running a mile every morning, playing pickleball and dancing the night away? I think not. Let's stop helicopter caregiving people who want to take it easy. We'll be there ourselves, someday.
Hi, at this point I think you are right. I have read there are 4 questions to ask yourself 1 is she safe 2 is she being cared for 3 is she taken her meds, eating and hydrated 4 is she a danger to herself or others Like you said at 94 what do we expect. I don’t feel she should be doing anything she doesn’t want to do.
My daddy slept all the time. He would sleep for three hours in his chair then go to bed for seven hours. He would sleep during the day in his chair on and off. I let him do this because I believed he earned it. He worked all his life since he was 14. So by the time he was 80 after raising six kids and working three jobs he earned his time to do what he wanted.
Go to Alz.org and read up about dementia and the stages. Your mom is obviously well past the early stage of dementia if she's sleeping so much and waking up delusional and confused. Leave her be to sleep as much as she likes and look into a hospice evaluation for her.
What is the doctor saying? or maybe you have not approached them yet.
I guess this awful condition has a myriad of symptoms. If the type of dementia is vascular dementia, then sleeping a lot seems to be a common symptom of this type.
I'm sure others will reply and let you know from personal experience how they dealt with this symptom.
I just want to give you support as someone that understand the difficulties of looking after an elderly mom.
My 88 YO wife has the same problem, she will sleep most of the day, then stay awake most of the night. This has been going on for about two years. I've had no success changing this sleep pattern. Consequently, my sleep pattern has had to adjust to match - to some extent. The local Alzheimer's Org. suggests attempting to keep the patient awake during the day - however, when I try, things get somewhat testy.
Sometimes the people who give advice to caregivers have no actual experience in caregiving.
If Alzheimers Org wants to come over and put on a dog and pony show to keep your wife awake during the daytime, by all means they should do it. That's not going to happen, and you found out it doesn't work anyway. So quit trying (as you appear to have done, and good for you).
Have you talked to her doctor about sleep meds for nighttime? It's worth a try.
You may need to place her where she has 24/7 care. They're used to it, and the night owls can often move about freely and be happy. You'd be happy too. If you don't get enough sleep, bad things could happen to your health, and that isn't good.
Have 8 Reasons - January 29, 2022 by Serenity Senior Care
Older adults may require 12 to 14 hours per night for optimal performance, compared with eight for younger adults and seven for infants. It is theorized that this increased amount of time spent in bed speeds up cellular repair throughout the body by a factor between four and fivefold over three decades. Beyond age 65, the amount of time spent sleeping increases by one hour every five years while obtaining a half-hour less sleep per night.
8 Reasons Why Old People Sleep So Much
1. Aging - One of the reasons people sleep so much as they age is their bodies, specifically their brains. Sleep is a deep state from which people have difficulty waking up. Older adults tend to have more trouble getting into and staying in this deep sleep. The result can be tossing and turning throughout the night, leading to many light sleepers. The deep sleep that old people get is a sleepy, almost unconscious state characterized by lowered brain activity. These individuals become very unresponsive to external stimuli, which can cause miscommunication and misunderstandings, leading to several problems. In addition, older people are more likely to experience sleep apnea because their bodies produce less oxygen during sleep. This leads them to snore heavily, which can be particularly problematic for spouses.
2. Depression - It is a factor in a person’s need for more sleep. It can be a symptom of other health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, or it can be an effect of the medication being taken. Depression is often characterized by a lack of energy and feelings of sadness or worthlessness, leading to changes in sleeping patterns that require more time in bed. Some medications prescribed to treat depression can cause a change in sleep patterns, but this is probably not the case with all drugs. An antidepressant prescribed for depression would most likely not cause insomnia unless there are no other underlying sleep problems.
3. Health Problem - From arthritis to depression, most health problems can lead to fatigue and excessive sleeping. It might be a health problem. Their organs are slowing down, and they have less energy. As a result, their body needs more rest to work effectively. When people grow older, they also spend more time sleeping because they can’t do as many things as quickly as before. Sleep signifies the end of one’s day and enables the body to make quick repairs.
4. Lifestyle - Sleep helps maintain our physical and psychological health. Sleeping also improves memory and slows down the process of aging. To stop the effects of aging, we need to sleep more. That’s why it’s recommended that seniors over the age of 65 get between seven and eight hours a night.
5. Surgeries cause the immune system to stop working well, making them more susceptible to infections, meaning their bodies are less protected from germs and diseases and extremely weak during surgery. Older people spend more time sleeping because they would otherwise suffer from complications as they grow older.
6. Boredom - The less bored people are, the more sleep they get. When engaged in life, people have a lot of things to do and occupy their thoughts. Without something to keep them busy or curious about life, it’s easy for folks to get bored + exhausted as a result.
7. Exhaustion - Circadian rhythms change as we age equally a natural slowdown in energy production. Sleep becomes more important as the body recovers and restores lost energy. For seniors, getting proper rest can help combat forgetfulness and confusion, which can often result from aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
8. The Side Effects of Meds - Some meds come with health risks + side effects , incl loss of sleep. Older people taking meds for insomnia experience little to no sleep (due to) the med may have a sleep-inducing effect that blunts the body’s natural sleep drive.
To oversimplify the answer, let her sleep and arrange for hospice to come in for an evaluation. Don't use the H word; just say it's a new service her favorite doctor is offering. Your main issue will be dehydration and toileting. Can she wake enough to be spoonfed sips of water? Bless you as you and her PC make plans.
Why don't you just let her sleep? I myself would not be very happy if all I wanted to do was sleep and my loved one kept trying to wake me up.
When the body is getting ready to transition from this world to the next sleeping a lot is very common, so have you brought hospice on board yet? If not I certainly would ASAP.
My late husband in his last year slept anywhere from 16 -20 hours a day, and he was under hospice care for the last 22 months of his life. So when he was sleeping so much I knew that that was just part of the process and it didn't concern me at all.
Your mom is probably just tired of living at this point, so again bring hospice on board and let her sleep.
As an old retired RN now 81 I can reassure you that they do sleep more and are honestly quite over being awake. As My Dad said in his early 90s, he longed for the last long nap. He had had a wonderful life, but he was exhausted with life, and ready to go.
I believe (from personal experience, not anything I've been told) that dementia patients' brains recharge while they sleep, just as normal brains do.
What should we expect from a 94-year-old, anyway? Running a mile every morning, playing pickleball and dancing the night away? I think not. Let's stop helicopter caregiving people who want to take it easy. We'll be there ourselves, someday.
1 is she safe
2 is she being cared for
3 is she taken her meds, eating and hydrated
4 is she a danger to herself or others
Like you said at 94 what do we expect. I don’t feel she should be doing anything she doesn’t want to do.
Best of luck to you
What is the doctor saying? or maybe you have not approached them yet.
I guess this awful condition has a myriad of symptoms. If the type of dementia is vascular dementia, then sleeping a lot seems to be a common symptom of this type.
I'm sure others will reply and let you know from personal experience how they dealt with this symptom.
I just want to give you support as someone that understand the difficulties of looking after an elderly mom.
Take care, Blessings.
If Alzheimers Org wants to come over and put on a dog and pony show to keep your wife awake during the daytime, by all means they should do it. That's not going to happen, and you found out it doesn't work anyway. So quit trying (as you appear to have done, and good for you).
Have you talked to her doctor about sleep meds for nighttime? It's worth a try.
You may need to place her where she has 24/7 care. They're used to it, and the night owls can often move about freely and be happy. You'd be happy too. If you don't get enough sleep, bad things could happen to your health, and that isn't good.
Older adults may require 12 to 14 hours per night for optimal performance, compared with eight for younger adults and seven for infants. It is theorized that this increased amount of time spent in bed speeds up cellular repair throughout the body by a factor between four and fivefold over three decades. Beyond age 65, the amount of time spent sleeping increases by one hour every five years while obtaining a half-hour less sleep per night.
8 Reasons Why Old People Sleep So Much
1. Aging - One of the reasons people sleep so much as they age is their bodies, specifically their brains. Sleep is a deep state from which people have difficulty waking up. Older adults tend to have more trouble getting into and staying in this deep sleep. The result can be tossing and turning throughout the night, leading to many light sleepers. The deep sleep that old people get is a sleepy, almost unconscious state characterized by lowered brain activity. These individuals become very unresponsive to external stimuli, which can cause miscommunication and misunderstandings, leading to several problems. In addition, older people are more likely to experience sleep apnea because their bodies produce less oxygen during sleep. This leads them to snore heavily, which can be particularly problematic for spouses.
2. Depression - It is a factor in a person’s need for more sleep. It can be a symptom of other health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, or it can be an effect of the medication being taken. Depression is often characterized by a lack of energy and feelings of sadness or worthlessness, leading to changes in sleeping patterns that require more time in bed. Some medications prescribed to treat depression can cause a change in sleep patterns, but this is probably not the case with all drugs. An antidepressant prescribed for depression would most likely not cause insomnia unless there are no other underlying sleep problems.
3. Health Problem - From arthritis to depression, most health problems can lead to fatigue and excessive sleeping. It might be a health problem. Their organs are slowing down, and they have less energy. As a result, their body needs more rest to work effectively. When people grow older, they also spend more time sleeping because they can’t do as many things as quickly as before. Sleep signifies the end of one’s day and enables the body to make quick repairs.
4. Lifestyle - Sleep helps maintain our physical and psychological health. Sleeping also improves memory and slows down the process of aging. To stop the effects of aging, we need to sleep more. That’s why it’s recommended that seniors over the age of 65 get between seven and eight hours a night.
5. Surgeries cause the immune system to stop working well, making them more susceptible to infections, meaning their bodies are less protected from germs and diseases and extremely weak during surgery. Older people spend more time sleeping because they would otherwise suffer from complications as they grow older.
6. Boredom - The less bored people are, the more sleep they get. When engaged in life, people have a lot of things to do and occupy their thoughts. Without something to keep them busy or curious about life, it’s easy for folks to get bored + exhausted as a result.
7. Exhaustion - Circadian rhythms change as we age equally a natural slowdown in energy production. Sleep becomes more important as the body recovers and restores lost energy. For seniors, getting proper rest can help combat forgetfulness and confusion, which can often result from aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
8. The Side Effects of Meds - Some meds come with health risks + side effects , incl loss of sleep. Older people taking meds for insomnia experience little to no sleep (due to) the med may have a sleep-inducing effect that blunts the body’s natural sleep drive.
Gena / Touch Matters
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