Is she napping during the day? If so, you should put an end to it so that she can get into a better sleep pattern at night. IF possible.
An Alzheimer's clock can help; it tells her the day of the week, date, time and whether it's day or night, and that helps orient a person with dementia to time of day. You can find them on Amazon.com under 'alzheimers clocks'.
My mother has moderate dementia; she tends NOT to nap during the day, but has a lot of trouble sleeping at night ANYWAY. She seems to follow a pattern; a few days of not sleeping until 3 am, then a few days of sleeping like a log. This has been going on for years and nothing helps. She's on enough nighttime medication to put a horse to sleep (but no sleeping pills, per se) and STILL has nights where she's up most of the time. It's the nature of the beast and her doctor has found nothing to help her break the vicious cycle. Not melatonin, nothing.
The best thing you can do is Google sleep hygiene and get her into a good sleep routine/schedule to see if that helps
One's circadian rhythm is affected by dementia. A person may wake up at 2 AM, get dressed and think it's time to start the day. Don't know if meds can treat this. Talk to her doctor. This is especially worrisome if your LO is a wanderer. Waking up at 2 AM and leaving the house could cause you to re-evaluate your LO's living situation.
There is another issue that may contribute to the problem with her sleep cycles. Almost all over the counter sleeping pills and sedating antihistamines contain anticholinergic drugs. The most common one is diphenhydramine. Products like Unisom, ZZZQuil, and Advil PM, for example should not be taken by someone with dementia. Talk to her doctor if she is taking one of the OTC pills.
Yes, it is quite common to get day and night confused. Especially with winter approaching and if they nap. After waking from a nap thinking they have slept very late is very common.
An Alzheimer's clock can help; it tells her the day of the week, date, time and whether it's day or night, and that helps orient a person with dementia to time of day. You can find them on Amazon.com under 'alzheimers clocks'.
My mother has moderate dementia; she tends NOT to nap during the day, but has a lot of trouble sleeping at night ANYWAY. She seems to follow a pattern; a few days of not sleeping until 3 am, then a few days of sleeping like a log. This has been going on for years and nothing helps. She's on enough nighttime medication to put a horse to sleep (but no sleeping pills, per se) and STILL has nights where she's up most of the time. It's the nature of the beast and her doctor has found nothing to help her break the vicious cycle. Not melatonin, nothing.
The best thing you can do is Google sleep hygiene and get her into a good sleep routine/schedule to see if that helps
Good luck!
There is another issue that may contribute to the problem with her sleep cycles. Almost all over the counter sleeping pills and sedating antihistamines contain anticholinergic drugs. The most common one is diphenhydramine. Products like Unisom, ZZZQuil, and Advil PM, for example should not be taken by someone with dementia. Talk to her doctor if she is taking one of the OTC pills.
Yes, it is quite common to get day and night confused. Especially with winter approaching and if they nap. After waking from a nap thinking they have slept very late is very common.