For example, maybe they are soothed by watching a favorite TV show, taking a walk, snuggling with a pet or reminiscing. My dad loved The Lawrence Welk Show; we would give him TV earphones to amplify the volume and limit other sounds. It was almost always an effective distraction.
8. Give healing touch. Never underestimate the value of a hand or foot massage to relax tense muscles and increase feel-good hormones. For example, when Dad was at the height of sundowning, we prepared a warm footbath with herbs and essential oils and soaked and massaged his feet about an hour before his sundowning generally started, which eased him through the transition incredibly well.
5 Ways To Help With Sundowning
He always loved having his head rubbed and scratched, so doing that immediately calmed him. He also got a professional massage once a week, which helped on an ongoing basis. A loving hug or holding hands can be physically calming and emotionally reassuring for your loved ones, breaking the cycle of anxiety.
10. Use herbs, supplements and medications wisely. Ask the doctor about medications that might help with symptoms, such as anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants. Be sure to ask about and monitor possible side effects; for some people with dementia, sedating drugs can cause the opposite effect (this happened to my dad). A geriatric psychiatrist is an excellent resource.
The duration of these symptoms can stop abruptly, change and fade over time, which can be very difficult for caregivers to manage. If you are caring for a loved one experiencing sundowning behaviors, you may wonder how to cope with these symptoms.
Dementia can make it hard to develop and remember new routines. Your loved one might react to unfamiliar places and things with feelings of stress, confusion, and anger. These feelings can play a large role in sundowning.
For example, consider going for a walk in the park together. This will help reduce their restlessness, give them natural sunlight exposure and fresh air, and might improve their sleep quality. All of this may reduce their sundowning symptoms. Plus, it can also help them enjoy better physical health.
Think back to the last time you were sick. Chances are, you wanted to be surrounded by comforting thoughts, things, and people. For someone with dementia, the world can become a scary place. Comfort and familiarity can help them cope with this difficult time in life.
Melatonin is a gentle, natural food supplement. It can help anyone fall and stay asleep, but a 2014 review found that it could help reduce agitation at night and improve sleep in people with dementia.
Try to eat a well balanced diet, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep at night. Ask other family members or friends to spend time with your loved one, so you can enjoy regular breaks. You can also ask your doctor about respite care and other professional support services, which can help you take time out from your caregiving duties.
Discuss sleep disturbances with a doctor to help identify causes and possible solutions. Physical ailments, such as urinary tract infections or incontinence problems, restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea, can cause or worsen sleep problems. For sleep issues due primarily to Alzheimer's disease, most experts encourage the use of non-drug measures rather than medication. In some cases when non-drug approaches fail, medication may be prescribed for agitation during the late afternoon and evening hours. Work with the doctor to learn the risks and benefits of medication before making a decision.
If you have a loved one who is living with Sundowning disease, it is critical to understand all you can about the illness and its causes in order to be as helpful as possible. The first thing to evaluate with your senior is whether they are actually experiencing Sundowning or a condition called Delirium. People with Delirium also exhibit very similar symptoms to those with Sundowning disease.
Create a soothing area where your loved one can enjoy their nighttime routine. Choose activities and sounds that are calming, like reading a book together, watching their favorite television program, or listening to relaxing music. If they are still feeling overwhelmed, try engaging with them through conversation, a calming game, or singing. Sometimes providing a gentle distraction is enough to help soothe sundowning syndrome.
Some of the behaviors associated with sundowning are specific to the time of day, while other behaviors can be common at any time for a person with dementia. Behaviors associated with sundowning include:
Identifying what causes sundowning behaviors, feelings and thoughts is the best way to help your loved one. For example, if they have insomnia, it might be because they had a very busy, overstimulating day. The proper treatment may be to give them a simpler, easier schedule with fewer people, sights and sounds.
Learning about the experiences of people living with Alzheimer's disease can be helpful to those who support them. The following are some suggestions from people with the disease from Memory Problems?, written by the Early Stage Support Groups in the North/Central Okanagan Region of the Alzheimer Society of B.C.:
Despite your best efforts, caring for someone with dementia becomes harder as the condition progresses, and the person you are caring for becomes more dependent on you. This is a time when many caregivers need more support for themselves. The following tips are to help caregivers take care of themselves and plan for the future.
Living with dementia at any stage can be very challenging. It is normal to feel a variety of emotions, including grief and loss, throughout all stages. It is important to acknowledge your feelings, care for yourself and seek the practical help and emotional support you need.
The Alzheimer Society in your community can provide educational resources to help you learn more about the dementia, referrals to help you access the practical support you need, and one-on-one and group support to help you cope with the emotional impact of the condition.
The needs of people with dementia at the end of life are unique and require special considerations. This section can help you prepare for end of life, make some of the difficult decisions you may face, and cope with the grief and loss you might experience.
As a person living with dementia, the Charter can help you assert your rights to live free of stigma, benefit from all of Canada's civic and legal rights, participate in policies that affect you and more.
One of the best ways to ensure our residents feel calm and peaceful in the evening hours is to fill their day with exhilarating activities that keep their mind and endorphins moving. This allows their body to relax and rest in the late afternoon.
When it comes to sundowning, the timing of onset (and individual behaviors) varies from one patient to the next and symptoms can often interfere with sleep. Sleep deprivation can then trigger ongoing episodes of sundowning while simultaneously contributing to other symptoms of dementia.
When it comes to treating and managing sundowning symptoms, the first step is to confirm that it is, in fact, sundowners syndrome and not delirium. Delirium is a medical condition that results in mental confusion and changes in attention span, perception, mood, and activity level. Though delirium is a stand-alone medical condition, people with dementia are highly susceptible to it.
Sundowners syndrome presents in different ways for each patient, though there are some predictable patterns of changing behavior. To give you a better idea what this condition might look like, here is a hypothetical case of sundowners in a patient with Alzheimer's disease:
For many people with SAD, simply spending more time outside during daylight hours is enough to relieve seasonal depression. Exercising outdoors or taking a daily walk are ways to do this. People can also bring more daylight into their homes during winter months by using special daylight light bulbs that fit in regular lamps.
Talking with a therapist helps relieve the negative thoughts and feelings associated with depression. It can ease the isolation or loneliness that people with depression often feel. It can help people understand their condition, and learn what to do to prevent future bouts of seasonal depression.
Adjusting to life with macular degeneration can be difficult both for the individual effected and the person who acts as their caregiver, especially because, as the name of the condition suggests, the condition will gradually progress to complete vision loss. As their caregiver, you must be prepared to help with their physical, mental, and emotional needs.
Looking for in-home caregiving assistance in Texas? When you need us,At Home Healthcare can help. Contact our team of caregivers today and learn more about how we provide assistance to elderly adults with macular degeneration and a variety of other conditions brought on by advanced age. Our empathetic, compassionate caregivers are only a call away.
One of the theories is that perhaps dementia patients experiencing sundowning syndrome are getting inadequate exposure to light early in the day. And this could be coupled with damage to the SCN and decreased melatonin production. Then later in the day, lighting becomes lower and shadows appear. If you already have a baseline of confusion, these other factors can turn it up a notch.
So how can risk factors for sundowning be reduced? There are steps you can take to help reduce the likelihood that someone with sundowning syndrome will experience an episode, including medication, environmental modifications, and some other therapies.
Other therapies: Music therapy, aromatherapy and simulated presence therapy often help. Technology can be useful by allowing patients to interact with loved ones and providing comfort.
Sleep hygiene: Consider whether a routine for sleep is stimulating a person instead of decompressing them. Reduce caffeine and sugar later in the day. Avoid television before bedtime. Keep a person active earlier in the day without overdoing it, so they become sleepier at bedtime, which may help reduce instances of sundowning. 2ff7e9595c
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