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My husband with Alzheimer's seems much worse in the morning. He does bizarre things after he first wakes up, i.e., thinking there are other people "running through the house," confusing his shirt with his pants so that he tries to put pants on over his head, etc.

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When people get up in the morning, becoming oriented after a deep sleep can take a bit of time. It seems to make sense that someone with dementia may wake up still "dreaming" and have a more difficult time re-orienting to the day world than an average person.

My dad had days where we knew immediately it was not going to be a good day. Whether it was something that changed while sleeping or a carry over from the dream state it was hard to tell. Anyway, this sounds like one more challenge. Sometimes putting a label on things helps and sunrisers is as good as any!

Keep telling your stories my friends, It helps us to unload and it helps others to know that they aren't alone. Sometimes solutions come through as well.
Carol
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I'm not a doctor, but I have a theory about "sunrise" syndrome, because my mother does it too. I think, because her brain has been able to "run wild" while sleeping, when she awakes and opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings, she must determine what is real, what is new and what may have been a dream from the night before. She takes a little while to get her "land legs" as I call it, and then she does better by about 10 a.m. Her mood is definitely different for sunrising... mostly confusion and re-figuring out her world, without the irritation or persevering she will do in the evening.
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I aggregate (collect these tidbits on
"Dave Mainwaring's Knowledge Network" )

Sunrise Syndrome,(sun?riz) a condition in which a person with Alzheimer's wakes up rising in the morning and their mind is filled with delusions which include include beliefs about theft, the patient's house not being their home, a spouse is an impostor, belief an intruder is in the house, abandonment, spousal and paranoia, people eavesdropping. Sometimes the person may carry over content of a dream.

One observation is that Sunrise Syndrome is different from Sundowning because the person may wake up in a confabulation mind set. During a Sunrise Syndrome conversation with the content may filled with confabulations; verbal statements and/or actions that inaccurately describe history, background and present situations.

Sundowning in contrast displays as confusion, disorientation, wandering, searching, escape behaviors, tapping or banging, vocalization, combativeness; the demons of anxiety, anger, fear, hallucinations and paranoia come out.

Hallucinations and delusions are symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. With hallucinations or delusions, people do not experience things as they really are.

Delusions are false beliefs. Even if you give evidence about something to the person with dementia, she will not change her belief. For example, a person with dementia may have a delusion in which she believes someone else is living in her house when she actually lives alone. Delusions can also be experienced in the form of paranoid beliefs, or accusing others for things that have not happened. For example, the person with dementia may misplace an item and blame others for stealing it. Some people with dementia may have the delusion that others are "out to get them." For example, he may believe that his food is being poisoned.
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I was told to give them their OJ first thing before they even get out of bed. It gives then their morning Sugar which may have been low from sleeping all night. It helps to regulate the system. Then get them up. My husband always confuses the clothing early in the morning too. You gotta laugh! It is funny to see a man with his underwear on his head or his pants on backwards. My husband put on my capris the other day. They were really tight. He looked like he was going biking! LOL
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Sundowner's is really collection of behaviors that tend to happen later in the day but don't have to be isolated to that time. It can happen at any time of day. Make sure you are keeping a journal each day of what you see, hear, sense. Especially if something strikes you as new/different/or super strange. The doctor is going to want to know how long something has been going on, and it's too hard to remember the details when you are up to your eyeballs in caregiving. Make sure to note the Sundowner behaviors to the doctor, as there may be medication that can help turn down the severity of symptoms without making him sleepy all the time.
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My husband wakes every morning asking which kids need to get up for school and who is in the house. It only takes a minute for me to orient him and he is usually ok.
He thinks the kids in the house are being very quiet so he can sleep. No one lives here but the 2 of us.
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To all of you who responded so thoughtfully to my, "Is there a Sunriser's syndrom" my heartfelt thanks. Your suggestions are most helpful and I especially appreciated learning the difference of Sunriser's behavior from that of Sundowners. It really helps to know other's are experiencing the same problems.
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Thank you so much for that information. I did not realize the importance of keeping a journal of these events. All I know is I wish they would happen at some time other than from 2:30 to 5:00 a.m.!
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Marley,

You need to write your question in a different place - see right below where it says Answer this Question, it says Please stay on topic or ask a new question" Click on "ask a new question", and put your question there - then you will get answers to it, it's a good question!
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Great question. Mom is more confused in the morning to. I think just trying to figure out her world. My dog senses Sundowners com8ng on so i have a vitnof a warning and if i can get her to bed within 20 min, its all good. If not, it can take 2 hours to get her settled. For Sunrisers, some days are worse than others. I work from hime and some times, spending time talking with her helps. Other times, nothing helps..
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