My wife is in her early 50s and was formally diagnosed with dementia a year ago, though has been showing symptoms since 2009. She has recently taken to getting out of bed about 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. to go to the toilet (thankfully on target most of the time) and then constantly walks back and forth between bed (gets in and then gets out again immediately) and bathroom until I get up. She often brings the toilet roll with her. She has lost the ability to dress herself unaided, so rummages through her clothes and often puts a cardigan over her pyjamas as an attempt to dress.
I am still at work and cannot afford to retire yet, so I need to sleep and cannot really keep getting up so early.
Sleeping separately isn't really an option, as I really need to be with her in case she has any problems during the night - she wouldn't think to ask for help if I were in a separate room, and could get extremely distressed.
I recently put up blackout blinds, and although this has stopped some of the early rising, it's not 100% effective.
I try to keep her awake during the day with organised activities to try to ensure that she is tired at bedtime, but she will often take a snooze at some point during the day.
Please does anyone have some helpful tips based on their own experience? Thank you.
I am still at work and cannot afford to retire yet, so I need to sleep and cannot really keep getting up so early.
Sleeping separately isn't really an option, as I really need to be with her in case she has any problems during the night - she wouldn't think to ask for help if I were in a separate room, and could get extremely distressed.
I recently put up blackout blinds, and although this has stopped some of the early rising, it's not 100% effective.
I try to keep her awake during the day with organised activities to try to ensure that she is tired at bedtime, but she will often take a snooze at some point during the day.
Please does anyone have some helpful tips based on their own experience? Thank you.