Sundowning is so misunderstood. There is little real scientific informaton on it and very little teaching about it for care providers. (including professional educations)
Since I have been experiencing it for about 2 years now I have noticed that it DOES change from winter to summer. (something NEVER mentioned in my textbooks) It truly seems to be a product of the "sunset" and not just the number of hours a person has been awake. (as some articles have implied)
I live in Los Angeles and so it happens about 7-8PM in summer and 3-5PM in the winter.
My question is for those of you who live at a very northern latitude (Northern USA, Canada Alaska?) where you get "6 months of light and 6 months of dark" do you seen the sundown symptoms during the actual sunset (which may be just a few hours apart) or is it more related to the number of hours they have been awake?
If anyone lives at a deep southern latitude (Austraila) feel free to chime in too.
I live in Vancouver, Canada and have lived in Edmonton, Alberta, which is considered as "the north." I think you're right. What I noticed as a young woman was that around 4:00 p.m. in Vancouver and 3:00 p.m. in Edmonton in the wintertime, my mood would often change and I would feel sad, with a sense of impending doom. I was anticipating my husband's return from work, and out of the blue would come the thought, "What if he doesn't come home? The day is so lonely." I have since heard a writer say, "You know that melancholy feeling that comes in late afternoon." And I knew what she meant. Anyway, I've often wondered about it and concluded that since I'm Irish, I'd blame it on that.
Not as far North as Mary75. Michigan. DH's sundowning didn't shift a lot timewise--generally started between 3:30 and 5, but in winter it was more intense and lasted longer. Maybe being cooped up more added to it?
I think most everyone has a time in the afternoon when you get tired, need a nap or worse - snack. Maybe this is an extension of that. Their minds are no longer to adapt - where a nap or snack would pick one up to get through the afternoon/early evening, they now have the odd behaviors.
I know most people feel much better with sunshine. I grew up in the NW with cloudy, overcast days common. Now I love the desert where the sun shines more. Even I get down when it is cloudy out.
I'm down under Australia....when DH was home, I noticed he started sundowning around 3pm...at times later at 5pm. I can remember his Dr saying to give his Seroquel when he was on it, before rather than wait till he starts to sundown.in an hour he would be sound sleep in the chair. If I did not wake him to eat or put him in bed he would sleep there right through to the next day. At the Nh, they say he starts around 7pm could be that it's summer now...Like Charlotte I too get down when it's overcast and miserable outside..
Unlike some, gloomy weather does not make me gloomy, but I think sundowning has something to do with diminishing light so keeping strong lights on in the house and drawing shades so they don't see reflections in windows may help. Maybe talk to the doctor about a mild tranquilizer. Most mothers will say that their babies have a fussing time around dinner and that could be the same thing, they are simply tired and don't know how to cope with that, especially AD people who have been keeping up appearances all day and now they just let down. And it could be that AD damages their body clock and disrupts normal sleep patterns. Of course, different locations mean differing times of lack of sunlight, but I think the day coming to an end no matter where one lives also has a lot to do with it.
I totally agree, Bettyhere*. The weather doesn't make me gloomy either. I do start turning on the lights as soon as the sun isn't coming in the windows. Not sure if it helps, but it can't hurt! And, it's getting darker earlier now, so the sundowning is earlier in the afternoon.
I was born and raised in western Washington state, where it is gray and gloomy a good part of the year. I hated it and was so happy to move to my husband's hometown in Oklahoma where the sun shines most of the time.
I must have SAD because even now when the weather turns gray and gloomy in the fall/winter, it takes me several days to readjust.
I do not know if sundowning is connected with SAD. I think sundowning refers to the increased confusion that can occur later in the day for some with AD.
As an aside, I did buy a HappyLight for DH in case it would help his mood during the winter. We are in OR, so there is alot of gray during the winter months.
I just wanted some input on this subject - Dan seems so much more restless now that the days are shorter & cooler. During the summer, he could sit on the porch from morning till night, hardly ever move from his chair or the swing except for a meal or potty breaks. Now he seems so restless, almost from the time he wakes up (at around 10:00 to 11:00) till after supper, when he seems to be able to relax a little. Almost seems like he feels "safe" knowing the house is locked up & he can relax now. I don't really know, I'm just guessing, but it does seem that the seasons affect his behavior. Heck, I think it affects mine too! Moods, I mean, & listlessness.
He does take a low dose of Olanzapine after breakfast & after supper - I'm wondering if he needs a little more now.
Would this all day restlessness be considered sundowning?
Mim, it's just restlessness - my husband is restless most of he time, but particularly late afternoons/evenings which is officially "sundowning". He's on meds for it all day.
My DH does sundown. But the time of day doesn't seem to change with the seasons, except that it doesn't self correct for Daylight savings time. It is less noticeable in the summer time, but that is because he can walk the deck when he is most affected (about 4 in the afternoon) and so it doesn't really bother me. But in the winter time, when his only place to pace is in the house, I will be giving him .5 mg Lorazepam at about 3:30 in the afternoon, in addition to his bedtime dose. Otherwise I could never get supper on the table!