Sleepiness

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
Hi,

Mum is sleeping a lot more in the daytime - she seems to nod off at any given moment. When I visit her at the home she is often fast asleep in her chair, is this a symptom of dementia?

Since going into the home she seems to have become more restless at night, wandering and not sleeping at all some nights, so then naturally in the daytime she is sleepy. What could the home do to help her body clock get back in sync?
 

Izzy

Volunteer Moderator
Aug 31, 2003
74,002
0
72
Dundee
My husband wasn't in a care home but he did sleep a lot. Sometimes he could fall asleep with the fork halfway to his mouth! He was also restless at night and I'm afraid I never got the body click issue soeted out.
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
My husband wasn't in a care home but he did sleep a lot. Sometimes he could fall asleep with the fork halfway to his mouth! He was also restless at night and I'm afraid I never got the body click issue soeted out.
Thanks Izzy. Yes I have a feeling that this is just a symptom of this bloody awful disease progressing... at least she is getting some peace when she is sleeping.
 

Izzy

Volunteer Moderator
Aug 31, 2003
74,002
0
72
Dundee
I bought one for my husband. To be honest I didn’t really see much, if any, difference. Of course I may not have bought the best model.
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
I think I just always look for things I can buy! It makes me feel a little less helpless .... but other than alleviating my feeling of uselessness nothing makes much difference.
 

Angela57

Registered User
Jan 22, 2016
195
0
I'm not sure anything can be done except for the use of sleeping tablets.

My mum slept most of the day and was awake all night for a long time. She is in a home now, and her new GP hask prescribed sleeping tablets for her, which has done the trick. My dad, who is also in a home spent years wandering at night and sleeping during the day, but he wasn't given sleeping tablets. He now sleeps during the day and at night, now that he is at end stage dementia.

Ang
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
I'm not sure anything can be done except for the use of sleeping tablets.

My mum slept most of the day and was awake all night for a long time. She is in a home now, and her new GP hask prescribed sleeping tablets for her, which has done the trick. My dad, who is also in a home spent years wandering at night and sleeping during the day, but he wasn't given sleeping tablets. He now sleeps during the day and at night, now that he is at end stage dementia.

Ang
Thanks Angela - my worry with sleeping tablets is that they will further affect mum's balance. Mum is already falling a lot, her balance is terrible. Did they have any impact on your mum's balance?
 

Angela57

Registered User
Jan 22, 2016
195
0
Thanks Angela - my worry with sleeping tablets is that they will further affect mum's balance. Mum is already falling a lot, her balance is terrible. Did they have any impact on your mum's balance?
Hi jojo2821

They haven't impacted on mum's balance, but she is mostly steady on her feet unless she is I'll. But that's why they didn't give them to my dad, because he fell regularly, and always managed to hit his head because he always walked with hands in his pockets.

Ang
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
Gawd ... the falling is awful isn't it? Mum always hits her head. She has had 5 falls in the last 3 weeks! 3 visits to the hospital .... The home is at a loss as to what to do. My brother is thinking of buying her protective head gear.
 

Angela57

Registered User
Jan 22, 2016
195
0
Gawd ... the falling is awful isn't it? Mum always hits her head. She has had 5 falls in the last 3 weeks! 3 visits to the hospital .... The home is at a loss as to what to do. My brother is thinking of buying her protective head gear.
Would she keep it on? It's a good idea if she would!
 

Tin

Registered User
May 18, 2014
4,820
0
UK
The last few weeks my mum has had a few falls and mainly due to her walking around with her hands in pockets. No ability to balance or hold onto things as she moves, so when she fell her hands were still in her pockets! So I have started to sew up all pockets on her clothes, so many, but it is the right thing to do.

I never found a way to stop mum wandering around at night, apart from the odd sleeping pill. Lots of day time activity did not seem to help. Dementia moved on and now mum can no longer get out of bed without my help, but I know that she does not always sleep through the night.