Long lie ins

[Bay21]

Hello everyone,

My Dad is 80 years old and has Alzheimer's. He lives alone but at the top of my road so I visit him everyday except two when a carer goes in. My Dad would always get up fairly early (7ish), take his medication and then go back to bed for a couple of hours but would generally be up and about by 11am. Recently he has not been getting up until 2pm sometimes 3pm meaning he isn't having his "breakfast" until 4pm at times although he has also stopped making himself his breakfast which he used to do everyday. I wasn't overly concerned about his lie ins as to be honest at least I knew where he was and it was less time to worry about him potentially taking himself out. I just wondered if this excessive sleeping is normal? I have considered having a carer go in the morning but when he is woken he is obviously very confused and rushing to get ready sets him up for a bad day. I've also considered an alarm clock but I believe he will either ignore it or turn it off and go back to bed. Just wondered if anyone had the same sort of experience/any tips.

 

[Bunpoots]

Hello @Bay21

I wonder if your dad has lost track of time? My dad often used to be awake until the wee hours and would then sleep most of the day. I didn’t worry too much about it but he would get up and have breakfast and medication when the carers arrived and then go back to sleep until lunch time. It didn’t seem to make him any more confused but he was sleeping on and off throughout the day and night sometimes in his chair, sometimes in bed.

I think you’re right that your dad would ignore an alarm clock.

If this started suddenly it might be worth having him checked for an infection as anything like that can increase confusion.

 

[marionq]

My husband sleeps about 12 hours when he goes to bed at 7 pm. We are early risers but he would sleep on if I let him. However I noticed that when he slept later he was more confused and less mobile and resistant to personal care. Reluctantly I insist on him being up by 8 am and washed and dressed. I’m not too bothered if he then sleeps in the chair but the lying in bed doesn’t seem to be good for him.

Needless to say this is yet another stage - he wasn’t always like this.

 

[Spamar]

Yep, OH, with Alzheimer’s and vas dem, was an early riser, but also went to bed earlier and earlier! He was always the late one to bed! However, I knew where he was ( not getting to trouble!) and was perfectly happy with that. It gave me a free evening to do my own thing!

 

[myss]

It may be a symptom of his dementia @Bay21. My dad used to be an early riser too, even after he retired as he liked routine. This was years ago and now it fluctulates.

Sometimes he'll be up very early while it's still dark or dusk but this would be out of confusion. And then there are other times where he would sleep long - sometimes well over 12 hours. And to be honest, as long as he is comfortable and there's no appointment to get him ready for, we let him sleep.
Sometimes I have found him quite grumpy if he is woken out his sleep and plus admittedly we get those extra minutes quiet time to rest or get on with something without worrying about him.