If your loved one is sleeping too much during the day, ask the doctor to review the medications and see if an adjustment can be made. Untreated depression can also be the cause of daytime sleepiness.
Avoiding caffeine or other stimulants in the late afternoon or at night. Exercising early in the day rather than in the evening. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning. Creating a relaxing, quiet, comfortable environment to sleep in.
In some instances, excessive sleeping in individuals with one or more serious medical conditions can indicate that their health has taken a turn. This may not necessarily mean that death is near, but it is a reason to contact their doctor to see if a specific treatment should be altered, added, or removed.
Providing the person doesn't appear to be uncomfortable or distressed, then sleeping more during the day isn't normally a reason to be worried. However, if a person is lying down in bed and asleep for most of the time they will need to be looked after to make sure they don't develop any physical health problems.
Compared with younger adults, the elderly spend more time in bed but have deterioration in both the quality and quantity of sleep. All of these changes can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, which in turn can lead to intentional and unintentional napping.
As people age, they tend to sleep more lightly and often awaken during the night from achy joints or the need to go to the bathroom. Many people compensate for this lost sleep by catching a restorative nap during the day. That's normal.
From arthritis to depression, most health problems can lead to fatigue and excessive sleeping. So it's no wonder that old people–who often have more of these conditions than anyone else–are so tired! So if you find yourself asking, “why do older folks sleep so much?” it might be a health problem.
Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults—7 to 9 hours each night. But, older people tend to go to sleep earlier and get up earlier than they did when they were younger.
One of the typical signs of later-stage dementia, in particular dementia with Lewy Bodies (LB), is that people seem to need far more sleep than they used to, and appear more fatigued when they're awake.
Your struggle with waking up could be caused by something that's easily fixable. It could also be something that requires medical help and your body is calling out for help by telling you it is tired and working too hard. Either way, chronic fatigue and trouble waking up is not just a side effect of old age.
Who is Defined as Elderly? Typically, the elderly has been defined as the chronological age of 65 or older. People from 65 to 74 years old are usually considered early elderly, while those over 75 years old are referred to as late elderly.
Emotional Health Issues
Depression, anxiety, grief, and PTSD are all mental health disorders that can have increased anger as a symptom. Your loved one may need professional therapy to learn how to handle his or her emotions. Some seniors need medication to address severe anger.
Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
According to their internal body clock, most older adults need to go to sleep around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. and wake up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Many people fight their natural inclination to sleep and choose to go to bed several hours later instead.
Often when a person with dementia asks to go home it refers to the sense of 'home' rather than home itself. 'Home' may represent memories of a time or place that was comfortable and secure and where they felt relaxed and happier. It could also be an indefinable place that may not physically exist.
Insomnia in the Elderly
In elderly individuals, sleep‐maintenance insomnia and early awakening are more common complaints than sleep‐onset insomnia; this is likely due to the age‐related changes in sleep architecture and circadian rhythm described above.
Patients with dementia might be tired during the day, but not be able to sleep well at night. It is best to keep the same sleep/wake times and routine as before the dementia began. Some drugs used to treat dementia may also affect sleep. It is good to nap during the day and the best time for this is before lunchtime.
Excessive daytime sleepiness in older adults may be a symptom of health issues like sleep apnea, cognitive impairment, or cardiovascular issues.
At age 90 years, life expectancy with dementia was 1.3 years (95% CI = 1.2, 1.5). The percentage of total life expectancy without dementia also decreased with age.
Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years. Vascular dementia – around five years.