Is mom sleeping too much?

My mom is 91 & mobile with cane or walker, but getting from seated to standing is a painful effort, but my concern is the sleeping. She sleeps a good 8-9 hours at night and then doses on and off all day, along with a good 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She still lives at home with my dad and there is plenty of outside stimulation. Her mind is good and though legally blind she watches the news and keeps up on events and listens to books, but the sleeping has been increasing. Is this just the body's way of "slowing down"?

My mom used to sleep from 1-4:00 every afternoon. Then she started also napping in the morning. Rarely, she could stay up all day. She really needed the rest. Sometimes if there was too much family stimulation around, she would become ill if she didn’t nap. We tried to be sure she got enough sleep, so that when she was awake she felt well.

She also went to sleep at night around 11, then at 10 and then as early as 9pm, but said she woke up periodically and then she would wake some time between 5 am and 7:30. Later, she began to sleep until 9:00 am.

I gave her a Kindle, because she loved to read and we thought that turning her light on and off might have been too much for her. The kindle has a nice light to read and it turns off after a while if the page isn’t turned, so she would just flip it over on her bed and fall asleep after reading a bit.

She was tested for her intelligence in April and scored at the top of 92 year olds. I always thought she was sharper than me.

My sweet mom passed away in her sleep a few weeks ago. While her sleep time was increasing, it scared me and I often wondered if she would wake from her naps. When she did wake up, she was always bright and cheerful and asked me why I was hanging around and looking worried.

I think as my mom aged, she needed more and more sleep. We feel it was a blessing that she lived a long and healthy life until she passed in her sleep. She was comfortable and loved throughout her late life.

I hope you find this helpful. I know when this was happening to my mom, I had no experience with it and it worried me a lot. I didn’t know if I was doing everything necessary. She had very regular doctors check ups for her congestive heart failure and was closely monitored from a medical perspective, too.

Now in retrospect, I think the most important thing is that I made sure she was comfortable and loved and that we were with her as often as possible ... and life took it’s natural course.

My 95 year old aunt sleeps a lot & I let her. She seems to need to recuperate from going to day care twice a week and when I encourage her to get up on the in between days she stretches and yawns and says, "Oh, I'm so comfortable." So, I come in to talk with her (if she's awake), I bring her snacks and magazines and she seems perfectly content. Often I can lure her into the front room if Dr. Phil's on and then she'll stay up the rest of the day. She also loves cowboy movies and shows like Bonanza and Gunsmoke. We sit and watch these together and talk about everything and anything. My aunt worked like a slave all her life & always had time for her nieces and nephew (who have no time for her now) - so however she wants to spend her last years is ok with me, as long as I can see she's not suffering.

My wife sleeps about 21 hours out of the 24 and has done so for the past 26 months. Her muscle strength has deteriorated, and she has had 2 UTIs but those are the only phsyical problems I've seen . . . so far. She has an all electric bed and overhead trapeze that I try to have her use to keep her arm strength. I'm thankful for the memory foam that covers the mattress because I'm sure that has helped prevent bed sores.

My husband had dementia and started sleeping more and more as the disease progressed. This was partly due to drugs like Seroquel and Depakote, but those drugs made his waking moments better, so I figured it was a trade-off. He slept 12 hours a night and napped a lot in his chair in the daytime.

my mom(88 years old) also sleeps most of the day. She wakes up at 08:30 and by 10:30 she is ready for her morning nap. I wake her at 12 noon for lunch. Then by 2:30, 3 pm the latest she takes her afternoon nap. I wake her at 6pm for dinner. I find she is most awake after dinner until bedtime at 9/9:30 pm. My mom definately needs her naps. She has much more energy after a nap and we try to make the most out of the time she is awake. I know some of her tiredness is due to meds (she has congestive heart failure) but she needs her medications and so we work around her nap times

Mom is 93 and it is 3:00 in the afternoon and she just went to bed for the night. It can be anywhere from now 3 (which is the earliest ever) up to 7:00. She usually gets up between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning and is napping by at least 8 to 9:30 until noon. I think she is just tired and worn out from her age. Some days she doesn't sleep as much as others. There is no way I can plan on getting anything done at any certain time or giving anyone an answer if I can go or do anything at any given time. It is a wait and see thing. This is now going on for the 3rd year since she moved in with us. So I guess they can have just about any kind of sleep habits at any time.

If you think your loved one is sleeping too much, he/she could be the victim of unnecessary drugging. When my father went into a hospital for diagnosis of back pain, he was given risperdal, haldol, and ativan without our knowledge or consent. When I asked the doctor why my father seemed to be talking out of his mind, I was told that it was "hospital delirium," which should clear up in a week or so. One day I couldn't wake him up or get any response in the middle of the afternoon. The doctor finally confessed that "another doctor" had given my father two doses of ativan; he was unconscious for more than 18 hours. I later discovered (by getting the records) that my father had also been given risperdal and haldol, which are black box antipsychotic drugs carrying an FDA warning that they can cause death or serious side effects in elderly patients.
If I were you I would demand to see your mother's records (it is your right as POA to see them) to see what drugs she has been put on. You can then confront the doctor to see why certain medications were ordered.

that's how it is with me ,too- like chloesgrams2012, every day is a wait and see
you get up in the morning and you wait and see what the day will bring

She could be sleeping "too much"-- but only if there's a reason that can be remedied. When my mom sleeps too much, usually it means she needs the sleep. Until now it's been temporary, such as fighting an infection, or compensating for insomnia, etc. Reasons that can be corrected include increasing activity while awake, going outside or at least being exposed to natural sunlight as early in the day and as long as possible, good nutrition, which may include supplements if appetite is weak, etc. I like Sooozi's response. If mom is getting as much activity, fresh air, social stimulation, and good nutrition as possible with her challenges, then let her body tell her when it needs a rest and just accept it. If it is due to drugs, ask mom's physician about it and decide. Sometimes the dose can be reduced to retain the "benefits" while lessening the side effects, which could include sluggishness and fatigue. Maybe not. Again, consult with the physician about side effects of any medications and how to deal with them. Keep an open mind, and in the end realize that some things can be improved and some things have to be accepted.