JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s getting darker earlier in the day after daylight saving time ended. The time change can be challenging for those who are living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
The confusion the time change can create is called sundowning.
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“You have less sensory input when the sun goes down — this is what the sundowning term refers to. When the sun goes down things get darker. You see more shadows and you can’t interpret or process as well as you used to,” neurologist Dr. Douglas Scharre with Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center said.
According to Scharre, people with Alzheimer’s or dementia have “a lot of damage to their brain, so their brain is not working as well as it used to.
Sundowning includes symptoms such as
- Difficulty sleeping
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Hallucinations
- Pacing
- Disorientation
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Scharre says there are ways that caregivers can help their patients through this time such as creating a predictable routine that includes going to bed and eating at the same time each day.
Also, caregivers can plan activities during the morning and early afternoon, so their patients will be sleepy at night.
Other ways include limiting daytime napping, caffeine and sugar and turning on a night light to help reduce agitation that may happen when it’s dark.
Caregivers should also make sure hearing aids and glasses are close by to avoid additional sensory deprivation. If sleep isn’t coming easy, Scharre recommends talking to a doctor about ways to help such as using melatonin.
“If the caregiver isn’t getting good rest because the patient is up all night then subsequently the patient may not be getting the best care from a sleep-deprived caregiver,” Scharre said.
The Alzheimer’s Association said it’s important that a person living with dementia gets plenty of rest as well.
Scharre reminds caregivers to write down what happened before a “sundowning” event so that triggers can be avoided.
