When you or your Alzheimer’s home care provider are caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s, he may begin to develop some unique behaviors as the disease progresses. The behaviors usually take place in the late afternoon and into the evening and don’t usually show up until a patient is in the middle to late stages of Alzheimer’s.
Sundowning Defined
Sundowning is a term given to these new behaviors that Alzheimer’s patients start to exhibit as the disease progresses. As the day draws to an end, your loved one may begin to act erratically. He may have delusions or hallucinations and begin to act agitated and distressed.
It can make those necessary steps at the end of the day to help your loved one settle down and go to sleep for the night difficult and frustrating for all involved. As a caregiver, you might find yourself at wit’s end, trying to restore peace to the household in a loving way.
What Causes Sundowning?
Sundowning isn’t fully understood, but there are certain theories on what may be causing it. If your senior loved one with Alzheimer’s is experiencing sundowning, an Alzheimer’s home care provider will work with him and you to determine if any of these factors are leading to his sundowning.
- Overstimulation near the later parts of the day makes it difficult for him to unwind.
- Lack of sunlight during the day creates confusion as to what time of day it is.
- Unmet needs such as hunger or thirst.
- Pain levels that are increasing throughout the day and aren’t being managed.
- Mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety.
How Alzheimer’s Home Care Professionals Can Help With Sundowning
Sundowning can be caused by one or more of these above symptoms, and it may vary from day to day. While you may not be able to alleviate all of them, being aware of them can help you and your Alzheimer’s home care providers take steps toward reducing or eliminating them, hopefully making the end of the day much calmer for your loved one and reducing his sundowning.
Your Alzheimer’s home care provider will work with your loved one in these ways:
- Asking questions about his comfort. Alzheimer’s home care providers are trained in the best way to communicate with the elderly who have Alzheimer’s, so they can often get the answers that you struggle to find.
- Review the person’s daily habits. Is he getting outside enough? Perhaps some additional time outside will help his body clock get back in sync. They may incorporate more outdoor activities into his day to help him readjust to real-time.
- Incorporate more natural light in the home during the day and reduce light as evening approaches. Closing the curtains is one way to reduce the light in a room as evening begins, but you might also need to consider covering up reflective surfaces like mirrors or TV screens that may confuse your loved one.
- Distracting them. Your Alzheimer’s home care provider is a professional at distracting and redirecting your loved one so that he forgets his current state of agitation for something more pleasant and calming. This can be a great time to sit and reminisce about the good old days with your loved one.
With a little help from an Alzheimer’s home care provider and some patience as you test different solutions, you may be able to reduce sundowning in your senior.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Alzheimer’s Home Care in Wyckoff, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Applause Home Care today. Call (201) 326-8051
Applause Home Care provides independent, non-franchised quality Home Care for elders and families in and around Fort Lee, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Paramus, Glen Rock, Pompton Plains, Franklin Lakes, Westwood, Montvale, and Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
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