A myALZteam Member
Every night my husband sits in the livingroom to watch tv but at a certain time he always closes the curtain. I was wondering if that was part of it. Thanks in advance
My hubby's cousin did tell me her late husband had "sundowns". My husband sometimes gets very annoyed easily and throws a temper late in the day. I just give him an energy bar while I prepare dinner. The tv helps him be more sedated. He enjoys the baseball and football games. But he can't follow the tv shows that have episodes like on Netflix or Apple TV. He can't remember what happened before. He takes anxiety meds that has helped tremendously. He used to be physical with me like pushing me or knocking me to the floor (once) and can't remember anything about it later. He's had a meltdown once or twice like moving furniture around and rearranging his clothes. He can be like a 2 year old sometimes.
Your we;come Patti, glad to help. Taking a nap during the day keeps them from getting too yired and be agitated due to tiredness. Just make sure they are short naps or they will want to stay up late or stau up sleep overnite.
My husband was doing the same thing for awhile. Now at the same time of day he wants to take a nap.
Thanks
All of the provided answers are correct about sundowners, it is at its worse late afternoon and evenings. Somtimes an anxiety med will hekp to reduce frequentcy, delay action. Try to keep them calm early meals seem to help and give Anxiety pill right afrter eating evening meal. Then give evening meds about two hours after that, put music on and that seems to keep them calm. If still wanting to walk I have R walk from thr living room to the kitchen sink and then walk back, several times till she is ready to sit. Sometimes I have to walk with her but mostly does it by herself because we talk abiut how important it is for to walk and keep her legs able to support and able her to walk,, w/o a cane or walker.
Sundowning is when one with dementia/altzheimers becomes agitated, typically as the sun goes down, but it could be anytime. It takes many forms from sullen to very troubled to acting out. My H used to seem to start @ 3pm and took until mid evening to settle down. The last few months it’s a little less so and dinner (@ 5pm always sets him right until an hour later. Some calm with music or distraction and some need medication. Keep a log and you’ll see the pattern easily. There is nothing set in stone with this disease and it can change from day to day. Hang in there.
My husbands sundowning has slowed down lately. He use to become more active in the evenings pacing, pacing, more pscing. In addition he would rummage, move items around and sometimes try to rearrange furniture. In the summer I tried taking our walks after dinner it that seems to increase the pacing. Anyway now that it get dark earlier, this seems to have decreased. As always every day is different . Patience and creativity is needed on this journey. Just breathe!!
I always draw drapes and put on bright lights at dusk so hubby less likely to sundown so perhaps your hubby knows he feels better with drapes drawn.