I find my dh only sleeps about 7 hrs. during the night BUT he sleeps a good two hrs. during the morning and another two or more hrs. in the afternoon. He will try to sleep again in the evening but I try to keep him awake. I envy the spouses whose AD mates sleep 12 to 14 hrs. at a crack but it isn't meant to be for me. Seems I could have a nice evening to myself if I had that big block of time. As it is, DH will sundown, want to go "home" or "work", put his coat on and sit there with his briefcase. I tell him I don't drive at night and we will talk about it in the morning. By morning, it is forgotten.
Shirley, DH never takes a nap. He goes to bed at 6 p.m. and most nights will sleep until 6 a.m. But the last couple of nights he's awake at 4 a.m. - not good for me! And some nights, he gets up before I go to bed and wanders around the rooms upstairs; one time putting on my old work pants - and ripping them to shreds! You just never know but you gotta love'em!
I was beginning to think it was because he was doing to much, but he is not very active. He sleep from 22:00 to 08:30 every night and for an hour each afternoon but now he is telling me he is tired and doesn't understand why. He tries to keep awake so he won't lose a moment or miss something or not get something done. He is not able to do much but work on his computer. He used to be so active. Now everything is so difficult and tiring. Breaks your heart to watch!!! I am told that he is in early stage of the three Dementia's, but if this is early stage what are the next stages going to be like???
My DH falls asleep in his recliner chair off and on all day. He can't DO anything any more. Its been a couple years since he could do anything on the computer and he doesn't read any more. I think he is just bored out of his mind. He never did like to play board games. I just can't think of anything to keep him occupied.
Is your DH on Seroquel? When we tried Seroquel on my wife, Helen, it put her to sleep. Even as little as 12.5mg would put her to sleep within a half hour. We quit using it for that reason.
Jazzy: If I learned one thing during my dh's time passing from stage to stage it was rare that any dr. called his "stage" correctly. If you haven't yet looked at the Fisher Foundation site regarding stages or read BIG TREE MURPHY book on AD you should take the time to research these things....Big Tree Murphy has a site, but since it is never serviced some of it is missing. but it is also very good. I looked to these sites as places to get information regarding the stages. My dh did a lot of sleeping early on and more so as time passed. He was to say the least, a very hyper person and always on the move doing something...but as time progressed, he slept more and more. Does your dh have any other physical conditions? This could also could be a deciding factor on the amount of sleep he is requiring.
Jazzy - I could not find what meds he is on. Has any of them changed recently that may have brought on this change? When we tried Namenda in the early stage my husband was tired all the time and got exhausted easily.
My DH started taking a nap about ten days ago. He gets up around 7 and by noon is ready for bed and then up at 4 or 5 has dinner and off to bed at 7. He does not always fall right to sleep but does stay in bed. He often looks very tired.
DH has his eyes closed about 95% of the time. It's hard to tell when he is actually sleeping and when he is just "shutting the world out" He does not speak anymore, only occasional word here or there. He is definately in the final stages, but not sure how long he will hold on. He is on Hospice, but goes daily to adult day care. Most days, he sleeps there as well, but is surrounded by people and sounds and is better than being at home all day. He is also wheelchair bound. I guess my question is....has anyone else experiences this thing with eyes closed most of the time. His vitals are still OK. If anyone has experienced it, how long to expect it to continue before he passes?
Hi all Now my DH is having head aches. They seem to becoming more frequently and are painful. He has Vascular, bv fronto and Ad. I know he has had numerous small strokes and wonder if this could be causing the headaches and the need to sleep. He is becoming very quiet and is often really stressed. He sleeps quite a bit at these times. He is now going to Adult day Service (ADS) only once a week as he is not happy with he staff on the other two days.i now have home caregivers again. He is not as volatile as last year and that is easier on me but the nightmares keep me hopping.
My DH also sleeps a lot - and that was one of his symptoms before he was even diagnosed. His GP told me that was part of AD.
We both take naps in the afternoon - I don't always sleep but try to rest my back a bit. He used to sleep in the afternoon for about 45 min, now its often a couple of hours. And he sleeps late in the morning - 9 or 9:30 is not uncommon. Sometimes he even takes a morning nap. Some evenings he is up late watching old movies, but generally in bed by midnight. I know he doesn't always sleep well at night. He has nightmares. And he has frequent headaches - don't know what causes them, but he does have psoriatic arthritis, which does affect his neck, and he also gets migraines. I also think he may have some seasonal allergies, and can't differentiate between a sinus headache due to allergens and other kinds of headaches, like migraines and those from his neck pain.
My wife sleeps 12-14 hours a night, but on days when she has day care programs I wake her after 'only' 9-10 hours of sleep. She will also sometimes fall asleep while watching TV in the evening.