Sleeping issue

lovemom42

Hello, I am new here. My sister, brother and I are taking care of my mom. She was just diagnosed and is on 2 different medicines to help with her memory. My sister sees my mom more regularly than I do, but my mom went to my sister's today, and my sister could tell my mom was off. My mom said she had trouble sleeping last night. She ended staying up all night. She had been watching the history channel and it was the different wars, etc...she had watched it for to long. She gets emotional when she watches it. After my sister knew mom didn't sleep all night, she told my mom to go home and sleep. She went home but hasent slept yet. We are hoping she sleeps tonight. Is this the beginning of a common occurrence? Thank you.

lovemom42

My mom has Alzheimers.

JulietteBee

It is hard to say. It could be due to her dementia, but it could also be due to anxiety. Maybe watching TV before bed is upsetting her to the point where she can not fall sleep. I think that could be figured out by simply asking her what is preventingnher from sleeping.

If she expresses that she is experiencing nightly insomnia, you can ask her doctor to order a sleeping pill.

harshedbuzz

@lovemom42

Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here but pleased you found this place.

Dysfunctional sleep patterns are very common in dementia; even in the earlier stages when the damaged executive function process short circuits the reasoning of "I should go to bed, or I'll be tired tomorrow".

In the middle stages, dad's relationship with TV changed. Early on, he thought some of the news personalities and characters were friends. Later, we needed to police his viewing as he struggled to differentiate between a police procedural or dire weather conditions on the opposite coast being his reality. She may be stuck thinking the wars she's seeing are still currently happening and worried.

I used parental controls to block access to channels that featured shows that were a problem for him.

HB

H1235

Welcome. Mom was having hip pain and having trouble getting to sleep at night. The doctor prescribed something for the pain. She decided that if she stayed up really late at night she would be so tired she would fall asleep easily. I think she forgot they had prescribed pain medication. Then she started complaining that she was tired all day long and taking several daytime naps. She now thinks the medication is what is making her so tired. My point is logic and reasoning can be so messed up that it could be anything. I hope you can figure this out.

RebekkaK

My mom who has dementia also has trouble sleeping. She often will get up between midnight and five am and be ready to get ready for the day. She does take a medication to help her stay asleep, but also takes naps during the day. I think it's just part of it unfortunately.