not wandering but sleeping constantly

BrooklyntoCA

Hi, my mother, recently diagnosed with dementia, is not in danger of wandering. In fact, she sleeps much of the time in a chair, the sofa, and at night in her bed. Sometimes she is more alert and can engage with things up to a point. I've read a lot about people wandering when dementia progresses, but is the constant sleeping also a symptom of dementia? Thanks for any insights.

sandwichone123

Yes, lots of people with dementia sleep a lot. My dh goes through periods of sleeping up to 20 hours a day, but then he'll cycle back and have a nearly normal schedule. I'd say sleeping a lot is a much more common symptom, but because escaping is so difficult to deal with you'll see more threads about it.

Linda_Miami

Hi there.

I posted recently asking the same question.  My post is titled "Sleeps 24/7 no cognitive decline" or something like that.  You can read the comments that others wrote.

How old is your mom?  Is she taking any medications that could cause drowsiness or maybe should not be taken together?  Is she dehydrated?  Does she have an underactive thyroid?

My mom is almost 83 and a few weeks ago started sleeping almost the entire day and night.  

  

BrooklyntoCA

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense, sandwichone.

BrooklyntoCA

Linda, my mom is 95 - decline started slowly maybe a year ago - she was losing words she couldn't find - but last two months has declined pretty quickly. There might be some dehydration, I try and get her to drink more water. No indication that medications are involved or thyroid problem - she has a good primary physician that I'm constantly in touch with.