My Father is 95 and he has started sleeping a lot more recently, but he is eating and drinking and talkative when he is awake. I just read an excellent article on the elderly and the fact they don't get the deep sleep younger people do, so they tend to sleep longer in semi-awake states of sleep. He also has vivid dreams. I'm currently staying with him, but am going to take him to my house where I can take him outside for walks. I am fortunate to work remotely so I can be with him 24/7. I would look at your Mother's general state of health, medications (you wouldn't believe what the doctors had prescribed for him - I would be sleeping all the time!), and activities that may engage your Mother. My Dad is bored most of the time. I had the same fear as you and read articles and now feel reassured. Wishing you well!
Sleeping a lot is just 1 sign of end of life. There are secretions that build up and make what is sometimes called "a death rattle" the noise sounds bad but it is not painful. If this happens you can roll your mom onto her side and that can help clear the secretions. Don't use a swab as placing a swab that far back into the throat can trigger a gag reflex. Is your mom on Hospice? If so they should have information for you that will help you. If she is not on Hospice PLEASE call and they will help as well as provide supplies that are needed. And best thing they will make all the calls for you when she dies. There is a wonderful pamphlet that you can read on line called "Crossing the Creek" it has some wonderful explanations and I particularly love the one about sleeping a lot. Another sign that someone is at end of life is they stop eating and drinking. If your mom is still eating and drinking she may not be as close to end of life. And PLEASE resist the urge to do a feeding tube when she does stop eating. At end of life the body does not process food, it is using all it's energy keeping the heart going and the lungs working so digesting food is at the bottom of the list for the body functions. So any food that goes into the stomach may just sit there undigested and that can create more problems. Again, if she is not on Hospice give them a call.
It's hard to know based on the tiny amount of information you have given us but probably yes, she is winding down. That said it can be a very slow slide, except for meals or when she was being given care my mother was almost always asleep for her final years.
There are secretions that build up and make what is sometimes called "a death rattle" the noise sounds bad but it is not painful. If this happens you can roll your mom onto her side and that can help clear the secretions. Don't use a swab as placing a swab that far back into the throat can trigger a gag reflex.
Is your mom on Hospice? If so they should have information for you that will help you. If she is not on Hospice PLEASE call and they will help as well as provide supplies that are needed. And best thing they will make all the calls for you when she dies.
There is a wonderful pamphlet that you can read on line called "Crossing the Creek" it has some wonderful explanations and I particularly love the one about sleeping a lot.
Another sign that someone is at end of life is they stop eating and drinking. If your mom is still eating and drinking she may not be as close to end of life. And PLEASE resist the urge to do a feeding tube when she does stop eating. At end of life the body does not process food, it is using all it's energy keeping the heart going and the lungs working so digesting food is at the bottom of the list for the body functions. So any food that goes into the stomach may just sit there undigested and that can create more problems.
Again, if she is not on Hospice give them a call.