My 81 year old hubby has dementia. He has trouble word finding, toileting, dressing himself, telling night from day, etc. I have noticed increased strange behavior at night over the past few months. While speaking with his caregiver, a wonderful lady who has saved my sanity, she told me to start marking the calendar when this behavior occurred. Sure enough, it happens on the day before and the day of the full moon.
This last full moon, he got up at 11:30 pm and spent 3 hours trying to put 2 pairs of shoes in a shoe box that only holds one pair of shoes. He took all of his socks out of the drawer and clamped them together with wood clamps. He spent a couple hours sorting out DVDs, moving them from one box to another, and arguing with "that other b***h who was sleeping with him" (me) when I tried to get him back to bed. Needless to say. I get no sleep on these nights. We've tried a bunch of meds to get him to sleep thru the night. But none worked. Seriously made him violent, and he hit me for the first time in the 40 years we've been married. Has anyone else noticed bizarre behavior when there is a full moon?
There are those who believe strongly that a full moon does have an effect on behavior but that isn’t proof of anything.
We can’t change the cycle of the moon so I don’t know exactly what the point is of being overly concerned about it.
I suppose that I would be more concerned with having a discussion with my husband’s doctor about helping stabilize his moods rather than focusing on the lunar cycle.
Best wishes to you and your husband.
Yes, a full moon can affect some people. In fact, more babies are born during a full moon. The moon can bring up emotions. I know with animals, especially cats, this can happen.
As for the hitting, if hubby does that again, ask his primary doctor for meds to calm him down if there is a pattern during the full moon.
As far as the UTI, he doesn't have. I was curious about others experiencing strange behavior during a full moon because after his care giver suggested noting when it happens, I realized it was happening during a full moon.