Dementia and November
Winter is a difficult time to regulate your sleep especially if you have dementia
Lack of light can cause problems with telling the difference between day and night
Practical ways to ensure that a person with dementia gets a good night sleep
In the poem November by Thomas Hood there is a complaint about the dark and cold of this month.
The poet says
No sun- no moon!
No morn – no noon
No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day.
The absence of clear daylight or moonlight indicating the passage of the hours of the day and night is mourned. At least if the problem is the time of the year, you know that this will pass. We are cheered by the bright lights of the winter festivals including Diwali, and look forward to Christmas, and New Year, and then the days start getting lighter and we’ll see a difference.
Night and day for dementia
However, the problem of mixing up night and day is a permanent one for some people affected by dementia and those who live with them. It is not unusual for carers to be woken up in the night with phone calls from a puzzled person who can’t understand why it is still dark. The police or neighbours may call to say that a loved one has been discovered in the street at an unearthly hour, in the wrong clothes, striding off to a workplace that is long gone.
Sedative medication used as last resort
There are lots of strategies to try before turning to sedative medication. Those pills can cause a lot of problems including a sort of hangover the next day that makes the person sleepy and unsteady and likely to slip or trip as a result. But they are there as a last resort.
Helping people to sleep at night involves
Exposure to daylight and exercise in the daytime to create a healthy fatigue and diurnal rhythm
Restricting caffeine and food in the later part of the day to allow digestion and metabolism to settle before sleep
Keeping the bedroom dark and cool, to encourage the person to stay in their warm comfy bed
Of course, at the time of year in November when, as the poet says, there is no sun, and no proper time of day, these things are made more difficult. Spare a thought for friends who are carers at home and see if you can help by offering to take their loved one out in the daylight to get that essential fresh air, light and exercise that will encourage sleep at night.
There are many more ideas that can be considered and you can read about them here and here and also here……
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here
