My 88-year-old mother now sleeps all the time. Is this a sign that she does not have much time left?

I mentioned some medications that my mother had had prescribed for her, mentioned in the "Doppelganger" thread under Alzheimer's and dementia, that the psychiatrist had prescribed for her and she had refused to take. More recently her regular doctor gave her another prescription which I convinced her to take, and I gave her the earlier prescriptions along with it. She no longer sleeps all the time...

Last November I had her taken to the hospital; use the search box for "doppelganger" for details. This habit has just started...

If this is a recent change and a marked difference in your mother's normal routine, she needs checking out. Suddenly spending a lot more time sleeping could be a sign of hidden heart and/or brain events - not necessarily the end of the line, but it's important to know what's going on and what you should be looking out for. Any known health problems?

My mother is 86 and has a similar pattern. While she has always required a lot of sleep, 9 to 10 hours a day her whole life, as she ages she sleeps more and more. She goes to bed at 11 pm and gets up between 1 and 2 in the afternoon. Sometimes she takes a nap. She eats breakfast and dinner, no lunch, although I try to give her a small protein/fruit smoothie around 4.

I generally (selfishly) get her up if she is still sleeping after 15 hours, just so she won't be up too late that night since I have to stay up as late as she does.

At 88, nobody has lot of time left, frankly speaking. My mother is 88. She has definitely changed a LOT in the last 3 years. Sees pics of herself and says "Do I look that old?" Yes and no--we don't bother to print the ones where she truly looks her age.

Mother gets up later each day and goes to bed earlier and earlier. She only eats 2 meals a day, she's not awake long enough to eat more.

You can get mom to the drs for a physical, but aging is simply what our bodies do. I don't bounce out of bed at 6 am ready to go for the day anymore, nor do I expect that I ever will again.

88 is well past the "normal" lifespan. You can't expect mom to have the energy or desire to do the same things. Sleeping a lot? She's TIRED from living! You don't say that she has any specific ailments, but trust me, being 88 is big "ailment" for most people.