I know that wandering is not the least bit funny, and it is quite dangerous. However, sometimes, I just have to laugh at the Alzheimer situation or I'd go nuts. Being the food addict that I am, this article tickled my funny bone a bit. It was not meant to be humorous, but I could not help finding it so. You can click the direct link under the Breaking News section on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com or copy and paste - http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/03/midnight_munchies_keep_elderly.html
Love it. Isn't funny how caregivers (and that nurse is one) can come up with solutions through common sense, that the "professionals" can't? And the Nursing facility's statistics prove it.
MyDH got up at 12:30 two nights ago after not doing it for a long time. I happened to be up so I asked him why he got up and he said that he couldn't remember if he had brushed his teeth or not. He had gone to bed a 9:00.
Charlie was always a midnight snacker. Rarely did left overs stay in the fridge until morning. It did not take the staff at the nursing home long to discover that if they gave him something to eat when he got up in the night that he went back to bed more willingly and stayed there longer. He sleeps pretty much through the night now, but if he does wake up, they feed him.