A Place for Mom's Family

Sundowner's is a term used to describe the anxiety and tension a senior may feel about being away from home when 'the sun goes down'.  It is very common yet may not always be obvious.  Does anyone have expereince with this or suggestions of how to manage it?

Good morning. Yes, I have experienced this with my mother. She was even depending on OTC sleep aids at 6 PM, especially since the time change and the daylight hours were getting shorter, so now I have weaned her of this "habit" and encourage her to stay up with me until at least 8:30-9:00 PM by watching television with her. This is working out for me.  

There is a theory that people with dementia/Alzheimer's expend so much energy getting through the day that they are just exhausted by late afternoon/nightfall.  Many specialists think that this contributes to the effects of Sundowner's.  There has been some research that shows limiting stimulating activities as much as possible to the morning hours and also encouraging your loved one to take naps through out the day, helps with the effects of Sundowner's.  Hope this helps!

My mother is 91' she has a very difficult time at night, at first I didn't understand why she had all this anxiety in the evening, I thought it was a medication she was taking, or that the nurses are less personable on nights. Then a nurse said it's Sundowner's, I had never heard of it, but it is a real mental issue .What seems to work the best for her is a distraction, familiar face, conversation, ect.................The nursing home suggested adding zanax, I wasn't comfortable with that because it only adds to a long list of medications she is already on, and makes her extremely tired and sleepy. I have found that I constantly have to ask for updates on her meds. Please keep a close watch on medication they are ordered usually by phone, and no monitoring on reaction is followed through, it is up to family to execute concerns and be a part of all their care. When I notice any kind of change in her health, the first thing I look at is meds, then I ask how her stats are and request a urinalysis if their is confusion.

I agree with Linda.  My mother-in-law would get aggitated in the evening, especially as it was getting dark earlier.  I tried to track the times it happened and what we had or had not done that day.  It was usually happening on the weekends and M-F she was fine.  The answer.....during the week we always had her take a nap, but on the weekends I tried to keep her up!  Once we stuck with the routine of having her take a nap on the weekends too, the issue virtually went away.  When she did not get a nap, she always wanted to "go home".  Since we were in her home, this was very stressful for me to deal with.  For some reason, this is the one request she makes that I find the most difficult to deal with, because there is nothing I can do.  I really do believe in the notion, at least for my mother-in-law, that she has worked so hard during the day to "keep it together", that by evening she just can't do it any more.  I know for others this is not necessarily the answer, but it has been a life saver for me.