help is this normal?

[barbara57]

hi help needed
i dont know if this is normal,
my mother has Alzheimer's has had for the last 3 years, but most recently all she does is say she is going for a nap then gets up says shes going for a nap and gets up this has been constantly for the last few weeks i dont know if this is normal, she is 90 in january

any help would be appreciated

 

[canary]

My MIL used to say that she was going for a nap, sleep for 5 mins then get up thinking that she had slept for hours and it was morning (instead of mid afternoon)!

Most people have a sort of internal clock that tells you roughly what time it is - even if you get involved with something and suddenly realise that its a couple of hours later than you thought, you dont think its middle of the night when its actually early afternoon, or something like that. People with dementia lose this internal clock and often have no idea even whether its day or night. The other possibility is that your mum says that she is going for a nap and then forgets what she was going to do.

 

[Tin]

Repetition of a physical action is normal, at least it is in my experience. My mum has Vascular dementia and the in and out of wanting a nap is sometimes constant, but she never actually stays on her bed for long. She has also done this with wanting to go to the toilet.

Although sometimes unusual behaviour can be put down to an infection.

 

[Fullticket]

I have the opposite. Friday night I got her to bed. She was dozing in the chair but did not want to go. I woke her with tea at 11am on Saturday, followed by toast. She slept. She was getting up to go to the loo but she slept all day and all evening. I took her tea at various points and she did drink it. This morning I took her tea and toast and it was drunk/eaten. I topped up the liquids during the day but she was solidly asleep between. At 6.30 I asked her if she wanted to get up for dinner or remain where she was. She got up immediately and ate her dinner, had a glass of (watered!) wine and is cramming her cheeks with sweets as we speak. She has no notion that she has been in bed for 36+ hours.
I am considering checking if there is any depression there but I don't think so and I have made her drink, so hopefully no UTIs. So who knows where her head has been - and who can sleep that long!

 

[Amethyst59]

My MIL used to say that she was going for a nap, sleep for 5 mins then get up thinking that she had slept for hours and it was morning (instead of mid afternoon)!

Most people have a sort of internal clock that tells you roughly what time it is - even if you get involved with something and suddenly realise that its a couple of hours later than you thought, you dont think its middle of the night when its actually early afternoon, or something like that. People with dementia lose this internal clock and often have no idea even whether its day or night. The other possibility is that your mum says that she is going for a nap and then forgets what she was going to do.

Well, I have been a bit dense...my OH has been waking up from a nap and has no idea what time of day ( or night) it is. This has been going on for over a year...and I STUPIDLY had no idea this was another symptom of dementia. I just thought it was some weird thing he did. I feel really guilty, because I have been so unsympathetic about it. Lordy, what else am I doing to this poor man? Genuinely, till I read this, I had no idea. Thank goodness for this forum. I am learning so much, and hopefully becoming better at caring.

 

[Tragicuglyducky]

Could it be she means something else but doesn't realise she's saying "going for a nap"? My dad often says things that don't make sense given the context, he also asks the exact same questions but mean different things.

My dad goes for a lot of naps and seems to sleep for a long time and never remembers he's been for a nap. He thinks people come into his house to do things like open the curtains and clean for him...