My mother is 96. She has lived with us for 7 years. She goes to Adult Day care everyday.I have to wake her a 7 AM. Is this too much? She has dementia and is often confused when I wake her. I just don't want to appear to be cruel or harsh getting her up and dressed so early. She does well at the day care. She has sundowners most afternoons; could this be because she is tired from the day? Sure don't want to make things any worse ; she can be very difficult. Please voice opinions; I really enjoy having the day free.
Thanks,
Carol
arising I can't get it together, I stroll around the house and can't decide what to do first. and losing things like cell phone and coffee cup etc. I think I'm getting
alzeimers or dementia Also my driving is affected in the morning WOLLY1
Question: why does she go to day-care? Because you have a day job? Because it is good for her? Could she arrive later?
God Bless - it's never easy but is a blessed work for us! Piver
Like your mom, mine is most confused in the morning when she awakens. As the day progresses and she get oriented, her confusionn lifts and she is more with it.
Now, she wont go, it all comes in stages. Good luck.
The sundowning is most likely a separate issue as it's generally agreed in the medical community to be caused by changes in light/sensory input, where our younger eyes adapt quickly from natural light to artifical light, and from ambient background noise to closer-confined household noise (tvs, talking, cooking/cleaning etc) some elders cannot make the shift and it creates confusion and a sense of disconnection to their environment. However, in her case if she's sundowning in the afternoon it could still be a similar situation of change in environment (light, sounds, stimulus) that is hard for her to adapt to.
Hang in there, you sound like a dear to be concerned that it might be too much for her in the mornings but make sure you are asking yourself if it would be too much for you to not have that time.
Sundowners might be a separate issue. For mom it starts when the sun goes down and continues into the evening. The lack of light seems to trigger it.
If your mom is sleeping well, I wouldn't worry about her overdoing it during the day. I think it is nice of you to see that she gets this outlet everyday.