Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
H
Hurtbabygirl Asked May 2019

Is increased sleeping part of the last stages of dementia?

My 89-year-old mom has had dementia for the past 13+ years. She currently resides in a ALMC facility. She has had 2 ER visits since the first of the year, one from a fall due to a UTI, and the other resulting in a 3-day hospital stay due to aspiration pneumonia. She was previously sleeping until around lunchtime every day, but recently, has begun sleeping until anywhere from 2:00 till 4:00 every afternoon. Occasionally she will get up early but is mostly sleeping 15-17 hours a day. Is this part of the last stages of dementia? The nurses are telling me she has lived a good, long life and to let her sleep if that’s what she wants to do.

ACaringDaughter May 2019
See if you can do anything to keep her distracted from just taking another nap.

cwillie May 2019
13 years is a long time to live with dementia so it is possible she is entering the final stage, but a lot of other things need to be taken into consideration and sleeping more is only part of the picture. Dementia Care Central has a good summary of the stages of dementia:

https://www.dementiacarecentral.com/aboutdementia/facts/stages/#scales

ADVERTISEMENT


SparkyY May 2019
Not a Dr. But more sleep in an 89 year old could be anything from depression to another UTI. Best to not guess at diagnosis with such a vague symptom. Just my opinion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter